Barbados Soccer Academy deservingly popped several bottles of champagne after being crowned champions of Division One football on Saturday night at the Barbados Football Association's Wildey, St Michael AstroTurf, St Michael.
With showers of blessings pouring down and champagne being sprayed in the air a few moments later, it was a glorious atmosphere as the Andrew Tudor coach Barbados Soccer Academy side registered a 4-0 victory over St Andrew Lions.
[caption id="attachment_273197" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Barbados Soccer Academy are kings of Division One Football and for the first time have gained Premier League promotion. (Picture by Morissa Lindsay)[/caption]
Both teams have already gained promotion and will feature in top flight football when the BFA Premier League season commences next season.
When the final whistle of centre referee Jamar Springer sounded, Soccer Academy stormed the field to embrace each other and the man that scored both goals [Durea Padmore] in the 44th and 48th minutes respectively, was the centre of attention.
Coincidentally, both of those goals resulted from balls being squared by Jamile Goodman on the flank to midfielder Padmore positioned inside the six-yard box. Padmore, Goodman and Torian Went were all playmakers in the final third and Soccer Academy coach Andrew Tudor was a happy man having taken up the coaching job two seasons ago.
Tudor told Barbados TODAY: “When I came on, I allowed Jack [Bovell president of Barbados Soccer Academy] to know that our mission is to be playing at the highest level. So, we set out a plan and work towards getting into the premier league and fortunately with the inclusion of some foreign-based players [mostly from St Lucia] we were able to accomplish our mission.”
Barbados Soccer Academy found two additional goals in the dying stages of the game when Damar Maloney was rewarded a penalty kick in the 90th minute, after a reckless challenge by Lions' goalkeeper Marco Clarke. That was followed by goal number four which came in the allotted three minutes of extra time, compliments Edwin Adams in the 90+2 minute.
Yesterday's performance summed up a magnificent division one season for Soccer Academy who topped zone two with a whopping 52 points, resulting from 19 matches played and 17 wins, along with one draw and a loss with a goal difference of 46 - 56 for and ten against. St Andrew Lions were unrivalled in zone one having played 19 games, registered ten wins, drew four, lost five, and had a goal difference of 12 with 34 goals for and 22 against.
Soccer Academy and Lions will have company next season in the premier league when Youth Milan Football Club, coached by former national captain and ace striker Norman Forde, join those two. Milan won game one in the best of two promotional matches this past Tuesday night 2-1 against Wotton and played to a 1-1 draw yesterday against the same opponents to ensure they advanced and in so doing ended a five-year knock at the premiership door.
morissalindsay@barbadostoday.bb
The post Soccer Academy into premier league appeared first on Barbados Today.