After a thrilling game against the Placencia Assassins in the final of the Premiere League of Belize football champions, the Belmopan Bandits secured the win with a 2-0 victory. Playing to a packed crowd at Isidoro Beaton Stadium, the hometown heros Belmopan Bandits and their star goalkeeper Shane Moody fought hard to end the match in a shutout.
After much exciting back and forth between the two evenly matched teams, the Bandits managed to end the deadlock with a minute 29 goal shot from Brazilian midfield Amilton Filho. The arcing hard shot from 35 yards out just managed to escape the control of Assassins goalie Anthony Williams. As the shot from Filho came rebounding to earth, Honduran forward Kervin Johnson outpaced Williams to tip in the goal with an easy kick for the first goal for the Bandits.
The crowd rose to their feet six minutes later when Assassins midfielder Delone Torres used fancy footwork to penetrate the Bandits defense and slide the ball over to midfielder Ashley Torres. The shot from Torres from just 18 feet out was just shy of the mark and hit the left cross bar. A corner kick a few minutes later from the Assassins Luis “Baaka” Torres also hit the crossbar, dashing Assassins fans hope for a chance to even the score.
The Bandits relentless attack soon proved its mettle 10 minutes into the half when flying forward Kervin Johnson arced a perfect shot into the middle for Jerome “Jarro” James to punch in to increase their lead to 2-0. The Assassins attempted to regain ground just minutes later but watched in dismay as another excellent shot caromed off of the cross bar.
Due to points, a draw would’ve given the Placencia Assassins the title but it was not in the cards as the Bandits successfully managed to fend off all attacks to end the match with a decisive 2-0 victory. A triumphant crowd roared as the Belmopan Bandits were crowned the PLB Champions of the 2015-2016 season.
In recognition of their dedication and success in this hard-fought season, the management and staff of Chabil Mar would like to congratulate the Placencia Assassins for their outstanding achievement of reaching the finals of the Belize Premier League.
