Defending champions Weymouth Wales went into the final scrimmage of a three-match playoff needing a victory by two clear goals, fought valiantly, even forcing the game into extra time, but eventually succumbed and ceded the Football Premier League 2019 title to the Barbados Defence Force (BDF).
These teams excelled and topped the two zones of the Barbados Football Association’s Premier League round-robin competition, and entered a best-of-three decider over a week ago drawing the first fixture 2-2, and the army boys slamming home two goals to hand Weymouth a 2-0 defeat in the second.
But in the final game last Sunday at the Wildey Astroturf, the Weymouth players showed that they were not the 2018 defending champions and holder of the 2017 title by accident as they hit home two goals in the first half to erase the deficit and level the goal aggregate at 4-all.
This forced the match into 30 minutes of extra time when Rashad Smith put in the golden goal for the BDF players making them Barbados football kings for 2019.
This Premier League title for the soldiers may be fitting as they had been showing themselves to be the most purposeful team of the 2019 competition.
To emerge top of Zone Two BDF players were forceful enough to win 16 of 22 games played.
Weymouth players, on the other hand, rose above others in Zone One by winning only 12 of their 22 games.
BDF also excelled this season by scoring 75 goals and taking in only 17.
Weymouth Weymouth scored 52 and let in 19.
With the championship trophy safely in hand, BDF coach, Asquith Howell, said “it is always good to win a championship. It is a developmental programme and over the last three years we have been runners-up to Wales and UWI. I think this group deserves to win a championship in their final year.”
