Gregory “Lalu” Goodridge scored a brilliant free-kick and in so doing led Wildey Masters to their first ever Banks Barbados International Masters Football Festival title against Toronto Football Club of Friends yesterday.
The tournament that is now in its 19th year attracted many spectators to the final played at Wanderers. Most Valuable Player of the festival Julian Mottley along with Albert Mapp who captured the most goals accolade with seven, and Wayne Sobers, took supporters down memory lane with some fantastic passes and dribbles.
Champions of the 2015 Banks International Masters Football Festival, Wildey, celebrate with supporters.
Wildey booked their place into the final of the festival for the first time when they defeated Juventes of Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in the semi-final. Toronto defeated Pride of Bim 4-2 in the other semi-final game to advance.
It was definitely an interesting showdown in the final which lasted 30 minutes per half. Both sides failed to produce a goal even though Wildey played with a ten-man team after Wayne O’Neal was given a red card and sent off for deliberately tossing a player from Toronto onto the ground.
Five minutes before the conclusion many thought the game would go down to a penalty shoot out but that was the not the case as Goodridge had his way with what was a gem of a free kick.
It was like watching vintage Goodridge who in the dying stages of the game took a shot from about 22-yards outside the box which curled into the left side of the goal bars and shook the nets to the delight of former and current football players and fans around the ground.
In the third place play-off Juventes edged Pride of Bim 4-3 on penalty kicks.