BDF & Hankook Verdes draw 1-1 in RFG Cup football playoffs

Belize City, March 16, 2008 - The Belize Defense Force battled to a tensed 1-1 draw with No.2 ranked Hankook Verdes in Week 5 of the RFG Cup playoffs at the M.C.C. garden on Sunday.

Dion “Pussy” Flowers, Jarret Davis and Azizi Swazo took the BDF attack to the Verdes half of the field, but it was the visitors who first got a scoring opportunity when BDF defender Victor Nunez took down Danny Jimenez in the 13th minute, obliging the referee to rule penalty.

BDF's Jerome Serano takes on Verdes' Danny JimenezFortunately for the BDF, Danny flubbed the shot, sending the ball wide off the sticks. Danny made up for past misdemeanors when he caught up to a pass from big bro Orlando Jimenez in the 27th minute and made the BDF pay; score 1-zip!

The BDF forwards kept trying for the equalizer, but made no impression on Verdes’ defenders Jose Rodriguez, Wilhelm “Locho” Coye and David Barahona, nor Jamie Brooks in goal, and at the half time break, Verdes still led 1-zip.

The BDF refreshed their attack line by bringing in midfield general Marcos Souto, who nimbly set table for Azizi Swazo to bump in the equalizer in the 54th minute. Not even when Verdes’ striker Ricky Jimenez was sent off for delaying the game in protest of a foul against his brother Danny, the BDF never got it together to get the game winner and the long whistle sounded to a 1-1 standoff.

Meanwhile at the Carl Ramos Stadium in Dangriga, the defending champs FC Belize kept their dreams of entering the final alive when they ran over a winless Wagiya 4-1. Tyrone Muschamp scored firrt in the 36th minute and Jerome “Jaro” James soon made it 2-zip with a 2nd goal in the 39th minute as the champs held a 2-zip lead at the half time break.

Lisbey Castillo scored a consolation goal for the Griga Dang squad in the 56th minute, but after that it will FC Belize as Mark “Kelo” Leslie scored a goal in the 86th minute and in the 90th minute of injury time.

For FC Belize to have a prayer of a chance of entering the finals, Verdes must lose their next match against Wagiya, while the defending champs must pull off a win against the BDF at the MCC Garden on Sunday; quite a tall order, considering Verdes burnt Wagiya 1-0 in their first playoff encounter; a single point from a draw will be enough to put Verdes into the final and leave out FC Belize.