Experts…
They were very confident that SIMA and Tormenta would be the ones to fight for the final and that most likely Tormenta would take the prize. Not even one of the experts thought of us.
The response from our team and coaches was “we will show them,” and that’s exactly what we did.
On Friday, we played against Tormenta FC. They were undefeated (up to that point), playing home with the crowd was on their side and they were considered to be favorites. Coach Anderson said they were a strong team and had been working hard preparing us for a battle. The pressure was intense but we were able to score at right before halftime. In the second half, they came with all they had but we were able to hold on to the lead. Final score The Villages SC 1 x 0 Tormenta FC and on to the Conference final we went.
On Saturday, our Division rival, SIMA was pumped up. They wanted to redeem themselves after having lost to us during the regular season. They scored first but we countered minutes later while in the first half. The score stayed tied with both teams having several chances. Time ran out and we went to extra time. With the first 15 minutes of the extra time almost up we scored. The Villages 2 x 1 SIMA, but we had another 15 minutes to go. With fans looking anxiously at the clock, the players exhausted but giving their all the whistle blew.
Yes, it is true that we didn’t win our Division but we did win our CONFERENCE!