Barbados U-15s rally to capture World Cup consolation prize

B arbados capped a memorable run at the U-15 FIFA World Cup and Festival by winning the Tier F consolation final on Friday in Baku, Azerbaijan. Barbados defeated Suriname 4-2 in an entertaining final, with goals from Kato Morris, Raezario Roach, Aamir John and Kevio Bellamy. Although a penalty shootout defeat to Grenada in their opening Tier F match ended their hopes of remaining in contention for the overall title, Barbados remained unbeaten thereafter and finished the tournament on a winning note. Following the loss to Grenada, Barbados defeated the US Virgin Islands 5-0 before overcoming Bhutan 5-3 in the quarter-finals and Papua New Guinea 6-2 in the semi-finals. The team is expected to return to the island on November 2. Speaking to Barbados TODAY from Azerbaijan, coach Stefan King said he was delighted with the way his players responded after a difficult start to the competition.

“Having gone through a pretty tough first few games, we were able to take the lessons from that and once the teams were a little bit more comparable size-wise, technique-wise and ability-wise, we were able to show what we have as a Caribbean nation. “I was very happy with the way that they accepted the challenge and they didn’t let their spirit drop. We just looked at that as a learning opportunity and then really went into the second phase with a new spirit and a new mission, and they responded very well. ” King said the team’s improvement in the latter stages of the tournament did not require any major adjustments, showing the players always had the ability to compete internationally. “Nothing really changed between the first and second halves of the competition. It really boiled down to being a physical thing. Our team is generally not the largest and once the teams … were more of that…