7 News Belize

A Football Feast, BPFL Playoffs Begin
posted (January 20, 2014)
After a 14 week regular season which was dogged by the worst rains in years, the Belize Premier Football League's playoffs commenced this weekend with a pair of two game series. Four teams made the cut: the top seeded Verdes FC, the #2 Seed BDF FC, the #3 seeded Belmopan Bandits and the #4 seeded FC Belize.

The first game was played on Saturday in Belmopan City, between the third seeded Bandits and the second seeded BDF. BDF had the better record but the Bandits were on their home field. In the end it seems that was enough to give the home team a decisive victory; we aired the game live on Channel 7, and here are their three goals - two of them off penalties:..

Deon McAuley, Belmopan Bandits FC
"It was just a hard knock on my ankle but it will be alright. It shocked me when I first got it, I feel like my toes they couldn't move but everything alright now that my body cool down a little bit."

Jules Vasquez
"We know when injuries get cold; often times it feel a lot worse. You think you will be okay for next week in Griga?"

Deon McAuley, Belmopan Bandits FC
"Well of course, if not then I'll work with a therapist this week and see how well I can be for next week."

And so Belmopan goes to the Carl Ramos stadium in Dangriga next week - but will susperstar striker Deon McCauley be in game shape? He suffered an ankle injury at the end of regulation on Saturday night and had to be carried off the field. He spoke about the injury:..

Deon McAuley, Belmopan Bandits FC
"This is a well-furnished team, we have a good team, but this is the time that the team really showed that we are a championship team. With the players that we have right now, we should have been playing like this for a long time. It's a good feeling that now when we are jumping into the semifinals that we got it together and we ended up giving these teams 3 nil. Next week will be probably the same."

Jules Vasquez
"Are you all expecting next week that you play a conservative game to just keep it as a draw maybe or will you all be again flexing your offensive muscle?"

Deon McAuley, Belmopan Bandits FC
"I think more we will be flexing our offensive muscle again because next week is a different game - anything can happen is that game as well. I think that we will come out this week, we will train hard as usual and we will play an outstanding game again next week."

Gregory Cantun, Coach - BDF FC
"We are down but as soldiers we have to rebound back off from this victory. It is so surprising - in the coaching course they thought us not to blame referee, but I think the referee did a poor job. The level of the game, the ref should have taken up the tempo - the man allowed 2 three penalty on us and the other team won. We can't do anything about that - they won. We have to take our hats off to them and then come back and rebound."

"The team did really play the way how I expect them to play tonight, so that is the outcome as well."

Jules Vasquez
"Were you forwards having a problem with the size of the defenders on the Bandits team?"

Gregory Cantun, Coach - BDF FC
"The team has height advantage in that area. However, that wasn't the real problem. The real problem was after we jumped into the 14-15 minutes of play we got hasty and we started to rush and then we pushed the ball along and that is an easy claim for thr defender because you have 2 men who are over 6 feet in defence. It was hard to penetrate like that. We just lose our focus and hopefully we can rebound back and come back to Dangriga, our home town and do a good show for them."

"In Griga, with the fans that we have, we could take them out easy. Just like how they scored 3 easy goals, we can score 3 goals on then also. I haven't given up yet. We can come back. I remember a season with FC Belize, they had beaten us 2 nil in Cayo and we went back and beat them 4-1 in Belize City and won the championship - we are not afraid for them. We will come hard. We are going back to the drawing board, train hard and come back and have the game plan setup for next week in Dangriga."

Leroy Sherrier Lewis, Coach - Belmopan Bandits FC
"We always play offensive here. The problem was that we wasn't scoring, but today we scored. The setup of the team is the same way from I came, but you know we have to make some adjustments. I feel good today because the guys scored and the opportunity they got the complete it."

Jules Vasquez
"Are you concern that going into Dangriga next week, your team might get over confident because the game was too easy?"

Leroy Sherrier Lewis, Coach - Belmopan Bandits FC
"No game is easy. I make them know that. Its 180 minutes; we won the first 90 minutes and the game is going 0-0. We don't have any advantage."

Jules Vasquez
"Next week what style of play because you know if you play a conservative style, you can play for a draw and still advance to the next round, or will you all try and maintain this offensive attacking style?"

Leroy Sherrier Lewis, Coach - Belmopan Bandits FC
"I always play like that. I don't know why they say that I play the National Team defensive. When I play with the National Teams, its 2 forward all the time. the situation there is that you have a good team and they dominate you. We are going with 2 forwards same way and we are going to try to score more goals because we are very concern that we need more goals because we want to go CONCACAF, more goals that we score, we can get first place and the team will be comfortable."

On Sunday, the action went back to the MCC in Belize City where the top seeded Verdes faced the fourth seeded FC Belize. IT was a tough, defensive game that ended in a nil - nil draw. That means it's win or go home for both teams as they head into the second leg of the home and away series. Who has the edge? We'll let them explain:..

Both game 2's will be played on Saturday night in Dangriga and Benque Viejo, respectively..

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