St Lucia schools football: 30 goals in Matchday 2 of Under-19 tournament

Matchday 2 of the Schools Under-19 Boys Football Tournament delivered a feast of goals on Wednesday, with 30 scored across five games at three venues in the south and along the coast. All northern fixtures were postponed, with officials citing extenuating circumstances, but the southern grounds more than made up for the missing games with high-scoring entertainment.

As reported by St. Lucia Times, the standout fixture came at the Soufrière Stadium, where the TVET Institute of Construction and Heritage, based in Piaye and representing Laborie, edged Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School 6-5 in an eleven-goal thriller. Mathius Isidore was the star of the show, scoring four times in the 34th, 40th, 63rd and 75th minutes. Sherhil Alexander, on 20 minutes, and Kurtney Sonson, on 61, added the other goals for the winning side.

Vieux Fort Comprehensive came close to matching them. Joshua Joseph struck twice, in the 10th and 30th minutes, Elijah St Romain also scored a brace with goals on 27 and 53, and Jahil Dormant netted on 65 minutes. Despite the narrow defeat, the school's attacking play kept the contest alive until the final whistle.

At the Philip Marcellin Grounds, Soufrière Comprehensive Secondary School beat the TVET School of Innovation & Technology from Anse Ger 5-2. Curdin Jones claimed a hat-trick, scoring in the 2nd and 10th minutes to give his side an early two-goal lead before adding the team's fifth on 56 minutes. Mickel Mitchell struck twice in quick succession, on 40 and 41 minutes, for the Soufrière boys. Kishawn Canchon, on 35 minutes, and Benaiam Poyotte, on 60, replied for the Anse Ger school.

The second fixture at the same venue ended all square, as Beanefield Comprehensive and Choiseul Secondary School shared four goals in a 2-2 draw. Micah Brouet put Choiseul ahead on 39 minutes, a lead they held at half-time. Keonte Derose, on 51 minutes, and Stewart Emmanuel, on 80, turned the match around for Beanefield, but Dermille Theodore equalised for Choiseul in the 83rd minute to rescue a point.

Three further games were played at the Saint Lucia Football Association's Technical Center in Dennery. Micoud Secondary School drew 1-1 with the TVET Institute of Culinary Arts & Sustainable Agriculture from Grande Riviere, while Leon Hess Comprehensive School beat Clendon Mason Memorial School 3-1. In the remaining fixture, goals from Ezekiel Cunude in the 18th minute and Ethan Thomas on the stroke of half-time gave C.A.R.E. a 2-0 win over Entrepot Secondary School.

Football is the sport played most often on the island, on village fields, beach strips and floodlit artificial pitches, and it sits at the heart of sport in Saint Lucia at every level. The Schools Under-19 tournament is one of the feeder competitions for the game there, and the Saint Lucia Football Association, founded in 1979 and a FIFA member since 1988, runs a technical centre in Dennery whose artificial pitch hosts exactly the kind of youth training and matches seen this week. The national men's team has taken part in World Cup qualifying for decades and has played in the CONCACAF Nations League, though a finals appearance remains elusive.

For visitors, the tournament is a reminder that some of the best sporting atmosphere on the island costs nothing to enjoy. Grounds such as the Philip Marcellin Grounds in Vieux Fort, with its grass pitch, stands and lights, and the Soufrière mini stadium with its artificial surface and athletics track, stage regular community fixtures, and hotels will usually point guests towards a friendly local game nearby. Anyone booking holidays to St Lucia who wants a taste of the island beyond the resorts could do worse than spend an evening at a village pitch.

Match venues this week show how the game is spread across the island's communities, from Soufrière on the west coast, close to the Pitons, to Vieux Fort and Dennery in the south and east. Many travellers combine a matchday visit with hiking in St Lucia, since the Soufrière stadium sits near the trailheads that lead towards the Gros Piton trail, and the town itself is one of the island's most atmospheric bases for exploring the southwest.

Getting to fixtures is straightforward for anyone already on the island, with local minibuses and taxis serving the main villages, while flights to St Lucia land at Hewanorra International Airport in the south, close to several of the grounds used in the tournament. Families in particular often find that a local football match makes an affordable addition to the usual things to do in St Lucia, and it fits naturally into family holidays in St Lucia that mix beach time with a slice of everyday island life.

Beyond the grounds, a day out to a match pairs well with the island's wider appeal, from beaches in St Lucia such as Anse Chastanet and Reduit to the culture and traditions of Saint Lucia on display in village communities, where football weekends sit alongside music, food and church as the social anchors of the week.

The tournament now moves on to its next round of fixtures, with the postponed northern games still to be rearranged. After 30 goals in a single matchday, the schools competition has set an early marker, and scouts, coaches and fans of the national game will be watching to see which of this week's scorers, Isidore and Jones in particular, can keep the run going in the matches ahead.