York Football Club wins inaugural St Thomas Under-17 crown to complete title treble

YORK Football Club brought a landmark season to a close on Sunday by claiming the inaugural McKay Security St Thomas Under-17 championship. That trophy joined the parish major league title and the south-east regional play-off crown already on the club's shelf, a sweep that has earned YORK a berth in next season's Jamaica Football Championship, the division sitting one step below the Premier League.

The final against Danvers Pen stretched into extra time and produced three goals after regulation. Jordan Reid put YORK ahead in the 101st minute, Dale Brown drew Danvers Pen level four minutes before Kaif Ritchie's winner, and Ritchie settled matters in the 116th minute when he met a corner swung in from the left and buried a header the visitors could not stop. A lively crowd at YORK's Xpress Sports Complex roared the home side home, and tournament backer Tye McKay was among those watching the hard-fought contest before congratulating both finalists.

"Congrats to all the teams, especially those who made it to the final, York and runners-up Danvers Pen. It was a well-fought battle. They both fought with determination and should be proud of themselves. "McKay Security is proud to invest in sports, especially the youth, who are the future of the community, the country, and Jamaica's national football programme. My father, Dr Jason McKay, invests in many sports — martial arts, netball, pistol-shooting, dragon-boat racing — but football is a passion for him," the younger McKay said, citing the firm's $2.3-million backing of the Under-17 league and $5.1 million in overall support for football in St Thomas.

YORK took home $150,000 for winning the title, while Danvers Pen received $80,000, third-placed Heartese $50,000, and Golden Grove $30,000. Restaurants of Jamaica co-sponsored the Under-17 competition alongside McKay Security, putting $1 million toward nutrition by supplying 21-piece Kentucky Fried Chicken buckets to each team on match days, including the final.

St Thomas Football Association president Lascelles Logan acknowledged that junior players in the parish "may be a little behind those of Kingston and St Andrew and St Catherine," but he held up YORK's senior team topping Jamaica Football Championship qualifying ahead of St Catherine's Cedar Grove and KSAFA's August Town as evidence of what the parish can achieve. "York showed that we can conquer the powerhouses," Logan said, adding that the association now has two sides in the Jamaica Football Championship, with YORK joining Baptist Alliance among clubs pushing toward Premier League football.