Warwick Archers Bows 6 Somerset Trojans 1

Warwick Archers Bows retained their Gregory Grimes Under-13 Tournament title with a convincing 6-1 win over Somerset Trojans last night at the Clyde Best Centre of Excellence.

Xahvi DeRosa and Jace Donawa, who hails from Somerset, scored two goals apiece as the Bows took early control of the match with three goals in the first eleven minutes.

Then after Somerset gave themselves some hope with a goal in the 29th minute, the Bows put the game out of their reach with three more goals in eleven second-half minutes

Nayan Grant opened the scoring after just three minutes when a ball into the box put him in a challenge with the goalkeeper.

When the ball rolled free towards the goal line, Grant slotted it home from a narrow angle.

DeRosa made it 2-0 in the ninth minute, scoring directly from a free kick deep on the left side, his ball going untouched into the far corner. Three minutes later it was 3-0, this time Donawa blasting home a penalty after Josef Ferreira had been fouled.

Qu’ran Raynor pulled one back for Somerset in the 28th minute with a 20-yard free kick into the bottom corner.

However, that would be the closest Somerset would come in their fightback. After a promising start to the second half, the West Enders suffered another setback twelve minutes after the restart when DeRosa scored his second.

The Bows were in complete control and added a fifth three minutes later when Nate Snelling scored from a Donawa corner on the left after goalkeeper Jayden Gibbons dropped the ball. Donawa closed out the scoring in the 58th minute when he got through on the right side and slipped the ball past the advancing ’keeper.

London Robinson was the man of the match for the Bows while Michari Tear-Deleon was Somerset’s MVP.

“It’s good to be able to defend what we won, we’ve got a great bunch of kids and we thank their parents for allowing them to come and be under our tutelage,” said coach Kieshon Smith who is in his second year working with the youngsters.

“Even after getting those early goals, it was about being focused, we kind of had the game, but the goal they got gave them a little life.

“It was important for us to up it in the second half and make sure we got the fourth goal because we knew that would break their spirits.

“I was confident in my boys, they only let in this one goal in the whole Gregory Grimes Tournament. This was our sixth game.”