Last season's losing finalists Trendsetter Hawks got a measure of revenge to kickstart the 2024 Next Level Consulting Ltd (NLCL) under-15 community cup on Sunday, when they earned a 3-1 victory against defending champions Ginga FC in the season opener at Constantine Park, Macoya.
Last June, Ginga clinched the NLCL under-15 crown when they defeated Trendsetter by a 5-4 margin in a penalty shootout after the teams played to an exciting 2-2 tie at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex.
And while either team converted a penalty in the 2024 season opener, Trendsetter had the last laugh as they came away victorious.
Joshua Gabriel opened the scoring for Trendsetter in only the 11th minute, while Jordan Grant gave his team a 2-0 cushion when he scored in the 36th minute.
Trendsetter opened up a healthy 3-0 lead in the 56th minute when Jahseem Pierre scored from the penalty spot. The reigning champions got on the scoresheet in the 61st minute when Jamari Barker converted a penalty of his own. However, Trendsetter held on for the three points to start their campaign in the North-East group in fine style.
In the second game of the Constantine Park double-header in the North-East group, rivals Pro Series and City FC traded several heavy blows in a gripping 3-3 draw, with the former team scoring twice in the latter stages of the game to salvage a point.
Pro Series, winners of the under-15 and under-17 categories of the Trinidad leg of the Republic Cup National Youth League in 2023, fell behind by a 2-0 margin inside the first 20 minutes as City FC got early goals from Adriel Faure and Andrew Mohammed.
Pro Series got on the scoreboard in the 38th minute when Tyler Edwards found the back of the net, but Jeremi Nanton restored City FC's two-goal lead when he made 3-1 in the 44th minute.
Pro Series rallied late in the 70-minute match, though, and Ezekiel Bernard scored in the 68th minute before Jaseem Celestine tied the scores at 3-3 with his goal in the first minute of stoppage-time.
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