Flames beat defending champs 7 Miles in penalty kicks shootout, advance to Cayo Football Association Final

Photo Credit: Cayo Football Association

By Rubén Morales Iglesias: Flames beat defending champions 7 Miles 4-3 in a penalty kicks shootout in the Cayo Football Association semifinal on Saturday night at the Norman Broaster Stadium in San Ignacio and qualified for the Final.

Flames will now face Bullet Tree in the Final set for Thursday night. The winners will join Opening Season champions 7 Miles in the National Interdistrict Championship which kicks off on the weekend.

Saturday night’s semifinal finished 0-0 in regulation and extra time and had to be decided by the penalty kicks shootout. Edmond Jones, Randy Chavarria, Caevaughn Panti, Neon Harris scored a penalty-kick each to give Flames the victory. Elio Lara, Carlos Santos, and Jorge Monroy converted for 7 Miles.

Both teams will be missing a player each in the final games on Thursday night. After an altercation between Flames Zane Cacho and 7 Miles Alan Godoy, both players were ejected for violent conduct by referee Referee Juan Alas in the 54^’.

Cacho will be missing the Final on Thursday night against Bullet Tree and possibly the beginning of the upcoming Opening Season as he will more than likely be suspended for more than one game for tearing the referee’s red card and cursing him. According to the official game report, Cacho was ejected for violent conduct. When referee Alas showed him the red card, Cacho grabbed the card, tore it into pieces and threw it on the ground while allegedly insulting the referee in the process.

Godoy may also get more than the usual one-game suspension as he elbowed Cacho on his back while walking off after being shown his red card. He will surely miss Thursday’s third place game against Santa Familia.

In the second semifinal, Bullet Tree beat next-door neighbours Santa Familia 2-1 to also advance to the Final.