Nine (9) goals from Franklyn Victor powered the Old Madrid Masters to 3rd place at the 2013 Cool and Smooth Astec Masters Football Tournament in Antigua last weekend. Photo: Provided

The Madrid Old Masters put on an impressive performance in Antigua despite being short of players. Photo: VINO/File

The odds were stacked against them as only 12 players were available to make the trip and many of the missing players were from the starting list. Their Head Coach was also initially delayed then ultimately impeded by LIAT’s cancelled flights.

Yet, their determination to carry-on was strong, their hearts were big, and their desire to get back to their winning ways was high. So, off to Antigua the Old Madrid Masters FC went on Friday November 29, 2013 to represent the VI at the 2013 Cool & Smooth Astecs Masters Football Tournament.

A total of 8 teams participated in the weekend-long event, including clubs from the UK, Switzerland, VI and Antigua. The action kicked-off on Friday evening with Old Madrid having to play almost immediately upon arrival at the Johnson Village Football Stadium just outside of St. Johns. The first match for the men from the BVI was against Plan B of Antigua.  After a rusty and scoreless first half, the speedy and agile striker Franklyn Victor found the back of the net twice for Old Madrid in the second half to secure the first victory 2-0.    

The action continued on Saturday November 30, 2013 with two matches scheduled for the VI, the first one against X-Stars and the second one against Expendables, both of Antigua. X-Stars had not beaten the VI teams in previous encounters, and after falling behind 1-0 early, things started to look up for Old Madrid when Humphry Leue tied the game and Franklyn Victor added 2 goals to go up 3-1 in the first half.  However, X-Stars stepped-up their level of play and scored 3 unanswered goals in the second half to beat the VI for the first time 4-3. Undeterred, Old Madrid took revenge during the next match when Victor scored 4 more goals to his arsenal and Mathew Daly also found the back of the nets to give the VI their second victory 5-0, which guaranteed a 2^nd place finish in their zone behind X-Stars.

On Sunday the first quarterfinal match found Old Madrid facing the Zurich Swiss Masters in what turned out to be an entertaining and evenly played match, despite difficult playing conditions due to rainy weather. Victor continued his scoring ways with his 9^th goal of the tournament and Old Madrid led 1-0 until literally the last second of the match when the referee awarded the Swiss team a penalty kick with a controversial and questionable foul call in the penalty box. The match thus ended in a 1-1 draw and had to be decided by best-of-three penalty kicks. Anslem “Danny” Joseph and Victor scored the first two penalties for the VI; the Swiss then missed their third penalty with a beautiful save by Haenif “Size” James, and Leue then sent the VI through to the semi-finals with a well-placed penalty kick.

This was already an impressive result given that the VI team had only 1 substitute for the entire tournament, so basically everyone had to play every match in its entirety including at least 3 matches on Sunday – not an easy feat for veterans over 40 years of age! On top of that, top-scorer Victor was also injured during the quarterfinal match and would not be 100% for the remainder of the tournament. 

As luck would have it, the VI squad would meet X-Stars again in the semi-final match, with an opportunity to avenge the tough loss of the previous day and advance to the championship match. X-Stars had the advantage of having rested, fresh legs, and although fatigue was becoming a factor for the Old Madrid Masters, the VI defense led by Joseph and team captain Kelvin Eubanks as well as goalkeeper James managed to stave-off the attacking X-Stars and keep them from scoring, so the match ended in a 0-0 draw after regulation. Penalty kicks would determine who would play for the title and who would play the consolation match for 3^rd place.   Unfortunately for Old Madrid, both Joseph and Victor would miss their penalty kick and even though James also saved one for the VI, the X-Stars took advantage and scored twice to defeat the men from the VI for the second time in two days.

The consolation match between FOV of Antigua – who were the defending champions - and Old Madrid would then be decided by best-of-5 penalty kicks and, just as he did in St. Martin earlier this year where Old Madrid won the Veterans Masters Tournament, VI goalkeeper James first saved a penalty kick and then secured the victory for the local team himself with a beautiful penalty kick out of reach of his counterpart to win 4-3 and earn the trophy for 3^rd place overall.

It was a bittersweet victory as Old Madrid had come-in with high hopes of winning the big prize despite all the odds, and came very close, but the men held their heads high and celebrated the 3^rd place finish, knowing that it was a good result under the circumstances.

During the award ceremony, Franklyn Victor was named MVP of the tournament for his 9 goals and skillful play, and Haenif “Size” James was named Best Goalkeeper for his spectacular saves and having the most shut-outs.

Captain Kelvin Eubanks said afterwards, “I am quite pleased with this result and very proud of our players. Despite being extremely short-handed and with a heavy match  schedule, we played well together from beginning to end, controlled possession of the ball in most of the matches, and defended strong. It would have been nice to make it through to the finals and we believe that we had the talent to do so, but fatigue was a big factor in the end.”

Acting Head Coach Winston Potter added, “The team did very well under the circumstances. I think the training and practice sessions over the past 5 weeks paid off, and it was a considerably better result than our performance at home last month, so that was also very satisfying. All in all, we enjoyed playing again in this tournament and look forward to coming back next year. After a needed and well-deserved break, Old Madrid Masters FC will prepare for the BVI National League that will kick-off in January.”

Old Madrid Squad members:  Anthony Bramble, Matthew Daly, Kelvin Eubanks (Captain), Winston Gaton, Kenrick Grant,  Haenif James, Courtney Johnson, Anslem Joseph, Humphry Leue (Vice-captain), Potlee Pope, Richard Reid, Donovan Staple, and Franklyn Victor. Coach:  Winston Potter. Manager: Phoebe Murrell. Physio: Michelle Edmonds-Stoutt.