TGE Dieppe Bay Eagles Youth Stars and St. Peters FC won the remaining two SKNFA Youth League titles for 2023 on Friday December 22 at the SKNFA Technical Center. Dieppe Bay took the SKNFA Premier Youth Cup U-13 title after defeating Bath United 5-4 on penalties, while St. Peters edged Bath United 1-0 to win the U-15 title. Dieppe Bay were pegged back 1-0 after Bath scored early in the second half.
But in the dying moments of the match, Dieppe Bay earned an equalizer to send the match into penalties. In the end, Dieppe Bay prevailed to win 5-4 on penalties and 6-5 final score. Coach Kalia Huggins was elated and praised her players for their resilience and determination. “We had set up to do four days a week training, non-stop, coming from afar and just pressuring these boys to either take the licks (defeat), not cry, determination and just (show) sportsmanship,” she said. “Some of the boys, after the semi-finals were tired, but I’ll tell you one thing, they persevered to the end.”
In the U-15 finals, Bath United was unfortunate again to lose a second finals in one day, when they were edged 1-0 thanks to a penalty early in the first half, due to a handball committed in the box. Coach Jacquan Hazel of St. Peters praised the players and the fans and said this win means a lot to the community of Monkey Hill, St. Peters.
“It means a lot to the community because the community has been waiting for such joy and appreciation. I would like to say thanks to the community,” he said. The victory just shows that the youths came together and they really wanted this one.” So, with that, the 2023 domestic football season ends with two exciting SKNFA Youth League finals.