In the opening match of the double header at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella, Debe kept control and composure as expected from a champion. The South Zone winner, which was the only girls’ team this season to secure a victory in every match of the campaign, was up 3-0 at half time, and never looked back.
National youth team midfielder, Taylor, found the back of the net with a swooping freekick on the 17th minute with Bishop’s custodian misjudging the height and pace on the ball.
Just over five minutes later, Debe, remaining in attack found a second, from a close-ranged finish again from Taylor, who connected with a brilliant low, pacey cross from Ray-Ann Montano.
With half-time approaching, Debe put the match to an early rest. This time it was Patrice Vincent, who has consistently found the back of the net for Debe for the past two seasons, scoring the team’s third goal, again from close range. The ball arrived from a corner kick and with Bishops’ defenders failing to clear, Vincent capitalised with a rocket into the top of the net.
Despite the deflating and momentous task ahead, Bishops returned with the right frame of mind and had its best spell of the match at the start of the second half.
Just over 15 minutes into the restart, Bishops found its first and only goal via Krystal Taylor, who assisted in the only goal of the semifinal win over St Francois.
The final goal of the match came in added time from the penalty spot, when Taylor, who was in a one-on-one situation with the goalkeeper was shoved from behind, giving the referee an easy decision to make. Taylor, in fact, was removed from the field to receive treatment before returning to put away her hat-trick and her fifth goal in the two Big-Four matches.
The win came as no surprise to those who followed the country’s most dominant school girls team in recent years. Debe reached to the final after defeating the only other unbeaten school in the league, East Zone’s St Augustine Secondary 3-0, in the semifinal.