ROYAL SHOCKS KINGS AND THE UNION KEEP THEIR PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE IN NIGHT OF UPSETS AT NATIONAL STADIUM
The Royal ended the Kings unbeaten string in overtime 6-5, and the Union won a nailbiter to stay alive in the playoff race knocking off the Arsenal 6-5 in regulation.
Game one was played in a driving rain storm. Darin Dowling got Royal out to a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute of the first quarter. Rui Furtardo answered just seconds later, scroring from in close to tie the game at 1-1. The Royal took control in the second quarter. Jelani Butterfield scored in the first minute, then :30 later Dowling notched his second goal of the game on a header to build the lead to 3-1. Dowling struck again five minutes later to notch the hat trick and give Royal a 4-1 lead. Furtardo would get one back for Kings later to make it a 4-2 game at the half. Chris Anderson scored on a restart six minutes into the third, and then Cud-Joe Matthews hit a blistering shot from the midfield in the eighth minute to tie the game 4-4 after three quarters. It looked like the Kings would complete the comeback when Rui Furtardo scored in the box three minutes into the fourth to give the Kings their first lead of the game, but Clay Darrell would answer that goal with just five minutes to play and send the game into overtime. Kings GK Troy Hall made a tremendous save in the first minute of OT and came back with another brilliant save two minutes later. The Kings then had a chance to win it, but Furtardo’s left footed drive from close in sailed over the crossbar. It looked like we were headed for a shoot-out until Clay Darrell moved in from the midfield and drove a shot into the upper part of the net to secure the win for the Royal. Furtardo and Dowling both had hat tricks and Clay Darrell scored two goals for Royal including the game winner.
In game two everything was on the line for the league champion Union. The Royal victory meant the Union would need a win over Arsenal to keep their hopes alive. Blenn Bean got things started for Union scoring in the third minute for the 1-0 lead. Ralph Bean Jr. would answer seconds later from a sharp angle to tie it at one. Jason Furbert put the Union back on top with a shot that went thru the net and was eventually counted as a goal. Keemo Smith then scored a long distance goal that was aided by Jason Furbert’s screen of GK Jason Smith in front to give Union a 3-1 lead. Cecoy Robinson pulled a goal back for Arsenal from a tough angle, but :10 later Ricky Saltus outmaneuvered his defender and beat Smith to restore the Union’s two goal lead 4-2 after one quarter of play. Michael Parson’s scored the only goal of the second quarter for the Arsenal on a great feed from Cecoy Robinson and it was 4-3 at the half. Fabian Frankson tied it at four in the third quarter after an Arsenal corner kick. That set up maybe the biggest goal of the season for the Union. With time running out in the third the Union attacked the Arsenal goal. Nigel Burgess lost control of the shot and Keemo Smith was there to knock home the rebound with just :03 left in the quarter and give Union a 5-4 lead heading to the fourth quarter. Lashun Dill gave Union some breathing room on a beautiful individual effort. He came down the left wing, cut to the middle, and unloaded a vicious right footed drive that beat Burgess and restored the Union’s two goal lead. Union would need that goal when a miscommunication between Union GK Treadwell Gibbons and a Union defender led to an own goal to draw the Arsenal to within 6-5. The Arsenal could not rally for the tying goal and the Union held on for the 6-5 victory.
*The Kings played without striker Aquino Grant on Thursday Night.
*The Union win leaves them a game behind the Royal for the third and last playoff spot in the Cell One Red Division. The two teams play on Saturday to decide who will go to the playoffs. The Royal won the earlier match- up this year 7-6. A Union win would advance them in the playoffs. A one goal win would push the tie-breaker to better goal differential and the Union would have the edge in the category.
SCORING SUMMARIES:
ROYAL VS. KINGS
1ST QUARTER
ROYAL DARRIN DOWLING 9TH MINUTE 1-0 ROYAL
KINGS RUI FURTARDO 10TH MINUTE 1-1 TIE
2ND QUARTER
ROYAL JELANI BUTTERFIELD 1ST MINUTE 2-1 ROYAL
ROYAL DARIN DOWLING 2ND MINUTE 3-1 ROYAL
ROYAL DARIN DOWLING 7TH MINUTE 4-1 ROYAL
KINGS RUI FURTARDO 11TH MINUTE 4-2 ROYAL
3RD QUARTER
KINGS CHRIS ANDERSON 6TH MINUTE 4-3 ROYAL
KINGS CUD-JOE MATTHEWS 8TH MINUTE 4-4 TIE
4TH QUARTER
KINGS RUI FURTARDO 3RD MINUTE 5-4 KINGS
ROYAL CLAY DARRELL 10TH MINUTE 5-5 TIE
OT
ROYAL CLAY DARRELL 8TH MINUTE 6-5 ROYAL
UNION VS. ARSENAL
1ST QUARTER
UNION BLENN BEAN 3RD MINUTE 1-0 UNION
ARSENAL RALPH BEAN JR. 4TH MINUTE 1-1 TIE
UNION JASON FURBERT 8TH MINUTE 2-1 UNION
UNION KEEMO SMITH 10TH MINUTE 3-1 UNION
ARSENAL CECOY ROBINSON 13TH MINUTE 3-2 UNION
UNION RICKY SALTUS 13TH MINUTE 4-2 UNION
2ND QUARTER
ARSENAL MICHAEL PARSONS 8TH MINUTE 4-3 UNION
3RD QUARTER
ARSENAL FABIAN FRANKSON 9TH MINUTE 4-4 TIE
UNION KEEMO SMITH 14TH MINUTE 5-4 UNION
4TH QUARTER
UNION LASHUN DILL 6TH MINUTE 6-4 UNION
ARSENAL FABIAN FRANKSON 9TH MINUTE 6-5 UNION
ROSTERS:
ROYAL KINGS UNION ARSENAL
1 ZANE HENDRICKSON 1 TROY HALL 1 TREADWELL GIBBONS 1 JASON SMITH
3 AARON LUGO 2 LAMAUL CROFTON 2 KAMEN TUCKER 1 NIGEL BURGESS
4 KEEMO BEAN 3 CHRIS ANDERSON 4 JASON FURBERT 5 IJAHMON MALLORY
5 DARIN DOWLING 4 VERNON PERINCHIEF 8 OMAR SHAKIR 6 DAZ SIMONS
6 MICHAEL WILLIAMS 5 SHAWN FUBLER 10 KEEMO SMITH 8 MICHAEL PARSONS
8 JOSEPH BUTTERFIELD 6 KIWAUN FRANKS 11 LASHUN DILL 9 PIERRE SMITH
10 JELANI BUTTERFIELD 8 KORVON TUCKER 13 BLENN BEAN 10 CECOY ROBINSON
11 ADULPHUS LAMBERT 9 AQUINO GRANT 14 SHAWN BROWN 11 FABIAN FRANKSON
14 CLAY DARRELL 12 CUD-JOE MATTHEWS 17 RICKY SALTUS 13 KEITH MARTINS
16 KAI HOLLIS 13 RUI FURTARDO ---------------------- 15 CORNELL CASTLE JR.
------------------------- 14 CONNEKO TROTT ----------------------- 16 GINIKO BUTTERFIELD
------------------------- 15 SHAKIR SMITH ----------------------- 17 RALPH BEAN JR.
