After a month of scintillating football action, the curtains finally came down on the 2018 SLFA U23 Men’s Championship. Retaining their title are the U22 champions of last year Vieux Fort South.

Coached by the prodigious Emmanuel Bellas, Vieux Fort South was able to overcome Canaries by one goal to nil in the final which was staged at the Anse La Raye Playing field. The win over the weekend was the third consecutive tournament victory for the southern campaigners in a competition designed for this particular age group. The fact that players from this successful U23 team form the core of the equally successful Vieux Fort South senior team, fuels the speculation that this group of players may be the best ever to have emerged from a St. Lucian district. 

As is customary, the participating districts of the competition were placed into groups according to their geographical demarcation. Vieux Fort South were positioned in a group with the likes of Soufriere, Laborie and Vieux Fort North. However, the defending champs unflappably finished on top of their group without conceding a single goal. Their confidence and momentum proved to be too much for Rosea Valley who they met in the quarter final stage. A three nil annihilation of Rosea Valley provided Vieux Fort South with the grounds for qualification to the semi-final round of the competition. There, they squared off against Dennery; a team which had shown their prowess in the earlier rounds dispatching district juggernauts Micoud and eliminating pre-tournament favourites Gros Islet. Despite the formidable form with which Dennery entered the semi-final, they were ripped apart by the lightning attack of Vieux Fort South. Moving into the final, the detractors had all been silenced; virtually the entire nation was expectant of a Vieux Fort South victory. However, it must be said that Canaries, (who have rightfully earned the title as the most consistent team in district football) made the victory a quite daunting task for the southern football giants. The westerners displayed great resilience but eventually caved in to the attacking brilliance of Vieux Fort South.

The southerners have proved that their dominance over the years is not just a stroke of great fortune but rather the result of their arduous preseason training and the proper nurturing and coagulation of the plethora of raw talent at their disposal. The basis of Vieux Fort South’s attacking approach is plain and simple; space and speed. They have mastered the craft of luring teams into overcommitting in attack. They then toil inexhaustibly to diffuse the opposition’s approach and quickly transition into a counterattack where they very aptly distribute the ball to their speedy and quite skilful forwards. This strategy has been accredited for Vieux Fort South’s repeated success in the national arena. The men from the south will realise that their dominance has come at quite an early stage in their football careers and hence they will be keen to remain dominant for as long as  possible and to break and set as many national football records as they can.