Bermuda Football Association (BFA) youth committee chairman Cal Blankendal has dubbed last weekend?s Appleby Under 18 All Star Match at the National Sports Centre (NSC) ?a smashing success?.

Hundreds of fans took advantage of last Saturday night?s ideal weather conditions to come out and witness Kenny Thompson?s Academy emerge victorious in both the Under 13 and 15 youth KO Cup Finals before East prevailed over West 5-4 on sudden-death penalties in the night?s main event after the two sides remained deadlocked at three goals apiece at the end of regulation time.

Last weekend?s festivities commenced on Friday night with a banquet at the Hamilton Fire Station which was attended by Appleby managing partner Shaun Morris, BFA officials, coaches, players and proud parents.

Guest speaker for the night was North Village coach Dwayne (Streaker) Adams who urged the Island?s Under 18 youth footballers to apply the proverbial five P?s (proper preparation prevents poor performances) to their daily lives.

?Saturday?s event was wonderful for Bermuda. Not only did youth football benefit but also the entire Island from seeing the young people involved in sport at the highest level,? Blankendal told .

?Their (kids) conduct and performances were excellent and to everyone?s surprise we had a larger turnout than we previously expected.?

As for the football itself, the BFA executive described the competitiveness as intense.

A sole Troy Tucker strike earned Thompson?s Under 13 Academy KO Cup glory in the day?s curtain raiser against FC Bascome ? coached by Devonshire Cougars coach Andrew Bascome.

Thompson?s young charges then savoured double success by walking away with the Under 15 KO cup after edging out Dandy Town 1-0 in yet another closely fought contest on the carpet.

Reggie Lamb converted Academy?s winner.

East then prevailed over West in the nightcap by way of sudden death.

East grabbed the lead when Boulevard?s Ian Coke capitalised on a mix-up between the ?keeper and a defender only for North Village?s Shane Hollis to level the scores with an outstanding display of individual skill.

Devonshire Cougars? Lamont (Monty) Brangman then gave West the lead for the first time in the match, however Devonshire Colts? Jordon Commissiong brought East back on even terms.

Commissiong then helped himself to a second to restore East?s lead. But it still wasn?t enough to silence a determined West who equalised through a Jessie Almeida header to send the match to penalties.

However, both teams were still deadlocked at 2-2 after three rounds of penalties, forcing match officials to call on sudden death to finally separate the teams.

Lozendro Bascome, Coke and Oronde Bascome each scored for the East while Shawn Perinchief and Brangman were on target for the West before PHC Zebras? Malachi Jones missed his spotkick to give East the hard earned spoils.

?The football was very competitive and played in good spirit,? said Blankendal, who plans to make next year?s event even bigger and better.

?The intention of the BFA?s youth committee is to stage and broaden this event annually and we give special thanks to Appleby who continue to generously support youth football in Bermuda,? he added.

Meanwhile, Academy will bid for a third cup title in their inaugural season when they take on Dandy Town in an April 1 Under 15 league championship decider at a venue yet to be determined.

Town, the sole team to beat Academy this season, currently top the tables and only require a point to clinch the league while their opponents require an outright victory.