On Saturday, the BVI Football Association held a “Football Festival” for the under-15 girls and under-14 boys at the A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds.

 

Two teams from St. Thomas competed in the one-day event tournament.

In the under-15 girls match, the Virgin Islands beat the St. Thomas Laraza football club, 5-0.

The VI team has been training under coach Kate Rowsdon in preparation for the CONCACAF under-15 girls tournament in the Cayman Islands in August.

“We worked, specifically, in the first half and second half, on two different objectives and I’m really pleased we were able to work through those objectives and came out with the confidence boosting result,” Ms. Rowsdon said.

The VI team finished the first half, 4-0, with goals from Davian Williams, Morgan Creque, Lilly Pierce and Keithriece Smith.

“In the first half we took advantage of Laraza playing a deep back line, with us pushing the ball forward quickly, which made sure we had the ball in their half a lot,” Ms. Rowsdon said. “In the second half, I wanted the girls to take a little more time, relax on the ball, take a touch and look for a pass to feet. It was a struggle at first, but the girls tried to apply it and I’m pleased with the way they stuck to the plan.”

It was just the second match for the VI team and now need to learn how to compete in tournaments in a more controlled manner for the entire game, according to the coach.

“Like a lot of games, the first few minutes were erratic and being only their second game, they still had a touch of the jitters,” said Ms. Rowsdon. “In the tournament we need to get on the pitch and be calm, we have to understand the speed of play, control the speed of play and bring the ball down and play it how we want to.”

Overall, the coach was happy with her team’s performance and said they learned a lot from the experience.

The final squad for the CONCACAF tournament will leave Aug. 4 and will face the Cayman Islands on Aug. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

On Aug. 8, the team faces Curacao and then concludes group play against the Bahamas on Aug. 10.

The final is scheduled for Aug. 17.

In the second match, the under-14 boys played two nine-a-side games with the first finishing in a 1-1 tie, and in the second game the VI lost to St. Thomas, 3-2.

VI Coach Thomas Albert said his team played well, who were able to press their larger opponents for most of the game. However, he said there were some areas that the team needs to improve.

“Attendance by the boys at the Digicel Centre of Excellence, where most of the team are honing their skills, has improved discipline and ball work as well as greater strength,” Mr. Albert said. “However, we need to keep working on their understanding of the game and encouraging them to work harder still to improve.”

The Centre of Excellence will continue on Aug. 9 on Saturdays at the A.O. Shirley Recreation Grounds and on Virgin Gorda.

The under-14 team will be working on ball skills training on Aug. 12 and 14 at the Multi-purpose Sports Complex.