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CAP-HAÏTIEN — Against all odds, two young Haitian soccer league underdogs from the north, with just 22 years of experience combined, have reached the final of this season’s D1 Special Championship. Ouanaminthe Football Club 2011 (OFC) and Real Hope Football Academy, founded in 2014, are set to play for the trophy this coming Sunday, May 26, after respectively getting rid of América des Cayes and Cavaly de Léogâne.
“Sincerely, it wasn’t meant for us to be in the final, but we have determination; we were on a mission,” Ouanaminthe’s striker Stanley “Ti San” Joseph Jr. told The Haitian Times after the game. “We’re motivated, we’re young, we have talent. Our fans believe in us, so we pleased them by making the final.”
The final will take place at Parc Saint Victor in Cap-Haïtien. By reaching the final, Ounaminthe and Real Hope have both qualified for the 2024 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, which will kick off on August 20.
As its name suggests, Ouanaminthe is based in the northeastern commune about 40 miles southeast of Cap-Haïtien, while Real Hope is located in Milot, a commune just 11 miles south of the main northern city.
The two northerners’ trip to the final marks a possible incoming new age to Haitian soccer in which these two young clubs are slowly establishing themselves as powerhouses in the north over the two struggling northern legendary clubs, 51-year-old Football Inter Club Association (FICA) and 93-year-old Association Sportive Capoise (ASC).
Ouanaminthe conquered southern club América des Cayes 3-1 to clinch the final with goals from Watson Jean Brevil, Guensley Mompoint and Joseph on Wednesday evening at Parc Saint Victor. On its part, Real Hope sealed its spot in the final at Parc Saint Victor as well, triumphing over western powerhouse Cavaly Association Sportive de Léogâne 2-0 after teenage sensation Rapha Intervil and Daniel Saint Fleur each found the net.
Real Hope will fight for an avenging victory against Ouanaminthe in the championship game after losing to them consecutively twice in a growing northern rivalry. Real Hope’s last defeat against Ouanaminthe was a 2-0 loss in the final of the Innovation Cup in March. The Innovation Cup occurred during a period of inactivity in the Haitian Soccer League.
“We won’t hold back against Ouanaminthe because they just beat us two times,” Intervil, an 18-year-old left winger, said. “We’re all going to put our heads together to win the national championship over Ouanaminthe.”
The pacy winger from Léogâne has marked himself as one of the league’s most valuable players this season, tallying the second most goals this season, four.
The playoffs were set up with two groups of three, with each team playing against each other once. All games were played at Parc Saint Victor. Ouanaminthe topped its group with four points, América finished second with three points, and Baltimore Sportif Club, a giant from Saint-Marc, was last with one point.
OFC drew with Baltimore 1-1 in its first playoff encounter on May 16 at Parc Saint Victor. Joseph, playing his first season in the top division, also scored in that game, netting the equalizer.
The Fort-Liberté native has established himself as a secret weapon off the bench. He also netted the goal that sent Ouanaminthe to the playoffs, a 90th-minute 1-0 winner against ASC last month. Joseph, who claims to be 17, collected three goals and one assist in just four games after being inactive at the beginning of the season due to a shoulder injury.
“When a footballer is on the bench, he has to look at how the game is played. So when he gets in the game, he has to give his all and bring a change to the team,” Joseph said.
In addition to Joseph, Ouanaminthe’s captain and another forward, Roobens “Paloulou” Philogène is another striker to watch this season. The 28-year-old was the Innovation Cup’s co-top scorer and the top player in the final and the entire tournament. He scored both goals against Real Hope in the final of the Innovation Cup.
However, Philogène, who made a name for himself for his goal-scoring prowess, has only found the net once this season because he has been playing deeper back in the midfield. The Ouanaminthe native is the only forward plying his trade in Haiti to be called up for the national team’s World Cup qualifiers in June.
“We won’t hold back against Ouanaminthe because they just beat us two times. We will all put our heads together to win the national championship over Ouanaminthe.”
Rapha Intervil, Real Hope Academy winger
In the other playoffs group, Real Hope amassed three points as the club also won its first playoff game last week, overpowering Tempête Football Club 2-0. Tempête finished second in the group with three points and Cavaly last with zero points.
Both second-placed teams, Tempête and América, will compete on Sunday for third place in the D1 Special Championship.
The regular season was also set up in a different format after the league’s return from a three-year hiatus caused by the gang violence in Port-au-Prince. Fourteen teams were divided into three regional groups to prevent clubs from traveling to and past Port-au-Prince. Before the start of the playoffs, clubs from the Artibonite and Southern Department expressed safety concerns about traveling up north but eventually made the trip.
Underdogs had been making themselves heard in the league since the get-go of the special season. Real Hope and Ouanminthe made the playoffs in the north over two of the league’s most renowned clubs, seven-time champions FICA and three-time title holders ASC.
Real Hope slowly started establishing itself as a powerhouse in the late 2010s, surprisingly winning the league in the opening series of the 2017 season. As for Ouanaminthe, the club hopes to hoist its first top-division trophy on Sunday.
“It will be my first time playing in the final of the national championship, but it is mine to win,” Joseph said. “I have to win.”
The post Northern rivals Ouanaminthe and Real Hope to clash in Haiti’s soccer final appeared first on The Haitian Times.
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