Father-son clash in Walker Cup

IT IS not often that family members find themselves coaching opposing teams in football. But when Saturday’s ISSA Walker Cup KO football match between Mona High and Vauxhall High kicks off, it will be a father-against-son affair.

Craig Butler will face off against his son Kyle after the elder Butler led Mona past Edith Dalton Primary and Junior High 3-0 at the school’s grounds yesterday, setting up the quarterfinal clash against Vauxhall, coached by Kyle.

PRIDE

Looking ahead to the father-son showdown against Vauxhall, Craig didn’t hide his pride in his son’s achievements.

“We’re very happy to face off with them,” Craig told The Gleaner.

“Kudos to Kyle. He’s doing very well over at Vauxhall. Very proud of him and his programme and his entire team,” the elder Butler added.

“Vauxhall is our brother, Kyle is our son. The competition was set that way. But any way you look at it, Kyle came from us, from me, and I’m proud of everything that he’s doing,” he stated.

Mona had to wait until the second half to make the breakthrough, with substitute Judah Edmonds-Hall netting in the 67th minute.

Franklyn Mitcham doubled the advantage in the 82nd minute before Damario Brown sealed the win with a third goal in the 90th.

DIFFICULT

Craig admitted that the scoreline didn’t tell the full story of how difficult Edith Dalton made the contest.

“The opponent really pushed hard ... I think this team came with the intention to defend,” he reasoned.

“There were 10 men in their 18-yard box the entire first half, so it was very difficult to score. We had probably 90 to 99 per cent of the possession, and they were just blocking all the shots, so it became increasingly difficult for us,” Butler said.

He added that both programmes have earned their places in the last eight through years of hard work.

“Mona have been working hard for five, six years now, so I’m really proud of the effort of both teams. And it shows that with hard work, determination, discipline, and love, anything is possible.”

Vauxhall booked their spot in the last eight on Tuesday after beating Charlie Smith 5-4 on penalties.

christopher.scott@rjrgleaner.com