Torrential rain at Soufrière Stadium couldn’t stop Vieux Fort South, who beat La Clery 4-2 in the final of the Blackheart/Saint Lucia Football Association Knockout Football Tournament. Coach Alwyn Harris, named the tournament’s outstanding coach, told St Lucia Times his team always believed in themselves.
“I just want to say ’Thank you’,” he said, as the team celebrated a $30,000 payday. ”I want to tell the team a big thank you. The Vieux Fort public, thank you. I don’t know, we came into this competition believing that we were going to win, and I kept on preaching that to the boys.
“Y’all, there is no team that could stop y’all. So y’all make up your mind, and y’all go out there and do exactly what we practised in training. There is no I in team. And they proved tonight that they are champions. They are the first under-20 Blackheart champions.”
The boys in green and white endured a difficult period late in the second half, losing their goalkeeper to injury and having a defender sent off.
“It was disappointing, the red card, because the player who got the red card, we called him on the side, we spoke to him to tell him, you know, just relax yourself,” Harris said. “He likes stressing the defenders and then just this, but it worked out. We still won, but we need to work on our discipline when it comes to defence.”
Vieux Fort South took the lead twice in the first half, but La Clery responded each time to leave the contest wide open at the interval. Harris praised his players’ resilience and shared what he told them during the break.
“At halftime, I told those boys, we have not won that game. It’s 90 minutes football. 45 minutes football is not football, until the referee blows the final whistle,” shared Harris. “Every time we scored, we relaxed, we didn’t care about anything, the [other] team cannot come back. The team wanted it just as us; they wanted to win.
“So when we score, we have got to keep focused. We have got to stay focused in the game until the referee blows that final whistle. So I hope that we learn from this, and we move on.”
Vieux Fort South, who won the 2024 Tier 2 title in the Saint Lucia Semi-Professional Football League, gave Tier 1 winners La Clery a tough challenge in 2025. With the 2026 SPFL starting soon, Harris said his team is ready to compete for the top spot.
“The semi-pro coming there, the coach [Jamil Joseph] and them have it locked down. We have a bunch of guys in Vieux Fort; they always want to prove that they belong,” concluded Harris. “And I have no fear that they will; they will come there, and they will do their best.
Obafami Poyotte was named MVP of the final, while two teammates picked up individual trophies. Centre-back Kahlil Henry was named best defender, and Kai Alexander was adjudged best goalkeeper.
Eymani Butcher from Soufrière was named both best midfielder and Player of the Tournament. Rickelme Lionel from Gros Islet won the Daren Sammy Trophy for scoring the most goals.
