The Reggae Boyz
Take the Yard
By Dwayne Anderson
During Labor Day Ca’nival
weekend in Brooklyn, NY, in between all of the fetes and the floats,
some incredible Caribbean football can be found. Starting the
last Sunday in May and culminating on Labor Day Sunday, friendly
matches are played Sunday afternoons at Jefferson High School
Field, Brooklyn between teams representing Caribbean countries.
The event dubbed as the ‘Caribbean
Cup’ provides both spectacle and sportsmanship for energetic
fans on hand. This year's final featured the Reggae Boyz from
Jamaica and the Sugar Boyz from St. Kitts and Nevis. The Reggae
Boyz dominated the match and defeated the Sugar Boyz 1-0 on a
Damion Powell goal at the 23rd minute mark to take the championship.
En route to the Cup title, the Reggae Boyz
beat Barbados 4-0, tied Columbia 1-1, routed Dominica 8-1, and tied
with Antigua and Barbuda 1-1 in the preliminary round. In the quarterfinals
they tied with Haiti 2-2, and beat St. Vincent and the Grenadines
(SVG) 1-0 in the semifinals.
When Island Vibes spoke with the Jamaican
coach, Arthur 'Jetty' Mikes, at halftime, he told us that the team
had specific instructions to “…keep the ball away from
one or two [St. Kitts and Nevis]players… to keep more possession
of the ball…”. They did just that and in doing so came
away with a victory and record tying fifth Cup win… sharing
the record with only SVG.
(Dwayne Anderson is Editor-in-Chief and
contributor to Island Vibes Magazine and writes
about Caribbean culture, business, sports, entertainment, and social
issues, from his perspective. For comments, please feel free to
contact him at dwayne@islandvibesmag.com.)
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December
/ January, 2008 Issue
