2017–18 Premier League of Belize

The 2017–18 Premier League of Belize is the seventh season of the highest competitive football league in Belize, after it was founded in 2011. There are two seasons which are spread over two years, the opening (which will be played towards the end of 2017) and the closing (which will be played at the beginning of 2018).

Premier League of Belize
Season2017–18
Dates12 August 2017 – 21 May 2018
ChampionsOpening:
Verdes
Closing:
Belmopan Bandits
CONCACAF LeagueBelmopan Bandits
Matches played123
Goals scored445 (3.62 per match)
Top goalscorerOpening:
Georgie Welcome (18)
Closing:
Trimayne Harris (13)
Biggest home winBelmopan Bandits 7-0 Freedom Fighters
(4 November 2017)
Belize Defence Force 7-0 Freedom Fighters
(12 November 2017)
Biggest away winBelize Defence Force 1-7 Verdes
(18 November 2017)
San Pedro Pirates 0-6 Belmopan Bandits
(19 November 2017)
Highest scoringPolice United 6-3 Wagiya
(8 October 2017)
Longest winning runBelmopan Bandits (8)
Longest unbeaten runBelmopan Bandits (13)
Longest winless runWagiya (13)
Longest losing runFreedom Fighters (10)

Team information
Team City Stadium
Belize Defence Force Belize City MCC Grounds
Belmopan Bandits Belmopan Isidoro Beaton Stadium
Freedom Fighters Punta Gorda Victor Sanchez Union Field
Placencia Assassins Independence Michael Ashcroft Stadium
Police United Belmopan Isidoro Beaton Stadium
San Pedro Pirates San Pedro Ambergris Stadium
Verdes San Ignacio Norman Broaster Stadium
Wagiya Dangriga Carl Ramos Stadium

Opening season

From the 2016–17 Premier League of Belize closing season, 7 teams continued to play in the opening season of 2017–18. FC Belize were replaced by a newly formed team, San Pedro Pirates, making 8 teams in total.[1]

There would be one league consisting of the 8 teams, who will play each other twice, with the top 4 teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The opening season commenced on 12 August 2017.[2]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Belmopan Bandits 14 11 2 1 38 12 +26 35 Qualification to the Playoffs
2 Verdes (C) 14 9 3 2 26 11 +15 30
3 Belize Defence Force 14 6 3 5 23 16 +7 21
4 San Pedro Pirates 14 6 2 6 26 21 +5 20
5 Police United 14 6 2 6 27 25 +2 20
6 Placencia Assassins 14 4 4 6 22 27 −5 16
7 Wagiya 14 3 2 9 26 46 −20 11
8 Freedom Fighters 14 2 0 12 16 46 −30 6
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Results
Home \ Away BDF BEL FRE PLA POL SPE VER WAG
Belize Defence Force 1–0 7–0 2–1 1–1 1–0 0–2 2–0
Belmopan Bandits 2–1 7–0 3–1 3–2 2–0 1–0 7–2
Freedom Fighters 0–3 0–2 3–0 1–2 3–4 1–4 1–3
Placencia Assassins 3–1 1–1 2–1 1–0 1–1 1–5 6–1
Police United 2–1 1–5 1–3 4–2 1–2 1–0 6–3
San Pedro Pirates 1–1 1–2 2–0 3–1 3–2 1–2 5–0
Verdes 3–1 1–1 3–1 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0
Wagiya 1–1 1–2 6–2 2–2 0–4 4–3 3–4
Updated to match(es) played on 12 November 2017. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs
  Semi-Finals Finals
                         
1 Belmopan Bandits 6 3 9  
4 San Pedro Pirates 0 1 1  
    1 Belmopan Bandits 0 2 2
  2 Verdes (a) 1 1 2
2 Verdes 7 2 9
3 Belize Defence Force 1 2 3  

Semi-Finals

Game One[3]

18 November 2017 Belize Defence Force1 – 7VerdesMCC Grounds, Belize City
16:00 Vallan Symms  30' (pen.) Alcides Thomas  15', 46', 73'
Roberto Silva de Lima  51'
Gilroy Thurton  68'
Elroy Kuylen  69'
Richard Jimenez  89'
19 November 2017 San Pedro Pirates0 – 6Belmopan BanditsAmbergris Stadium, San Pedro
18:30 Darwin Bermudez  18'
Elroy Smith  20'
Jeromy James  33'
Georgie Welcome  42', 74'
Kervin Johnson  86'

Game Two[4]

25 November 2017 Belmopan Bandits3 – 1
(9 – 1 agg.)		San Pedro PiratesIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Georgie Welcome  3', 34'
Jeromy James  51'		 Jesse Smith  47'
26 November 2017 Verdes2 – 2
(9 – 3 agg.)		Belize Defence ForceNorman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio
16:00 Alcides Thomas  17'
Gilroy Thurton  36'		 Shane Flores  67'
Trimayne Harris  81' (pen.)

Finals

Game One[5]

3 December 2017 Verdes1 – 0Belmopan BanditsNorman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio
16:00 Roberto Silva de Lima  84' Referee: Christopher Reid

Game Two[6]

9 December 2017 Belmopan Bandits2 – 1
(2 – 2 (a) agg.)		VerdesIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Darwin Bermudez  22'
Jeromy James  43'		 Kervin Johnson  5' (o.g.)
 2017–18 Opening Season Champions 
Verdes
2nd title

Season Statistics

Top Scorers
Rank Player Team Goals*
1 Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits 18
2 Alcides Thomas Verdes 14
3 Daniel Jimenez Police United 10
Krisean Lopez Wagiya
5 Jaren Lambey Belize Defence Force 9
Hector Martinez San Pedro Pirates
7 Darwin Bermudez Belmopan Bandits 7
Jeromy James Belmopan Bandits
Elroy Kuylen Verdes
Luis Torres Placencia Assassins
11 Shane Flores Belize Defence Force 6
Elroy Smith Belmopan Bandits

* Includes playoff goals.

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Alcides ThomasVerdesBelize Defence Force3–1 (H)3 September 2017
Daniel JimenezPolice UnitedWagiya6–3 (H)8 October 2017
Krisean LopezWagiyaFreedom Fighters6–2 (H)15 October 2017
Georgie Welcome5Belmopan BanditsFreedom Fighters7–0 (H)4 November 2017
Georgie WelcomeBelmopan BanditsWagiya7–2 (H)11 November 2017
Jaren Lambey4Belize Defence ForceFreedom Fighters7–0 (H)12 November 2017
Alcides ThomasVerdesBelize Defence Force7–1 (A)18 November 2017

4 Player scored 4 goals
5 Player scored 5 goals

Awards

In the post-game ceremonies of the final game of the season, the individual awards were announced.[7]

Award Recipient Team
Golden Boot Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
MVP (Regular Season) Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
MVP (Playoff) Roberto Silva de Lima Verdes
Best Young Player Krisean Lopez Wagiya
Best Forward Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
Best Midfielder Denmark Casey Jr. Verdes
Best Defender Elroy Smith Belmopan Bandits
Golden Glove Selvin Zeron Sagastume Verdes
Best Coach Marvin Ottley Verdes
Best Manager Lorin Frazer Verdes

Closing season

All 8 teams that participated in the opening season will participate in the closing season.

The format will be the same as the opening season with one league consisting of the 8 teams, who will play each other twice, with the top 4 teams advancing to the end of season playoffs. The closing season commenced on 13 January 2018.[8]

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Belmopan Bandits (C) 14 9 4 1 33 19 +14 31 Qualification to the Playoffs
2 Verdes 14 9 2 3 32 14 +18 29
3 Belize Defence Force 14 6 2 6 26 18 +8 20
4 Police United 14 6 2 6 26 28 −2 20
5 Freedom Fighters 14 5 1 8 25 31 −6 16
6 San Pedro Pirates 13 5 0 8 21 28 −7 15
7 Wagiya 13 4 2 7 17 28 −11 14
8 Placencia Assassins 14 2 5 7 15 29 −14 11
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.

Results
Home \ Away BDF BEL FRE PLA POL SPE VER WAG
Belize Defence Force 2–2 2–3 3–0 3–2 4–0 1–3 2–0
Belmopan Bandits 2–1 4–2 3–1 2–1 3–1 1–1 1–2
Freedom Fighters 0–3 2–4 0–0 2–1 2–1 0–3 6–0
Placencia Assassins 1–1 2–2 3–2 2–3 1–0 0–2 1–4
Police United 1–0 0–2 2–1 3–3 3–1 2–1 1–1
San Pedro Pirates 2–1 3–4 4–1 3–0 1–6 0–1 3–1
Verdes 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–0 7–1 1–2 3–2
Wagiya 0–2 0–2 3–2 1–1 2–0 1–4
Updated to match(es) played on 15 April 2018. Source: Soccerway
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Playoffs
  Semi-Finals Finals
                         
1 Belmopan Bandits (a) 2 1 3  
4 Police United 2 1 3  
    1 Belmopan Bandits 3 5 8
  3 Belize Defence Force 1 3 4
2 Verdes 0 0 0
3 Belize Defence Force 2 0 2  

Semi-Finals

Game One[9]

21 April 2018 Police United2 – 2Belmopan BanditsIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Marlon Meza  49'
Harrison Roches  79'		 Jeromy James  26'
Tyrone Pandy  90+2'
22 April 2018 Belize Defence Force2 – 0VerdesMCC Grounds, Belize City
16:00 Trimayne Harris  43', 83'

Game Two[10]

28 April 2018 Belmopan Bandits1 – 1
(3 – 3 (a) agg.)		Police UnitedIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Jeromy James  82' Devon Makin  27'
16 May 2018 Verdes0 – 0
(0 – 2 agg.)		Belize Defence ForceNorman Broaster Stadium, San Ignacio
19:30

Finals

Game One[11]

19 May 2018 Belize Defence Force1 – 3Belmopan BanditsMCC Grounds, Belize City
16:00 Trimayne Harris  90+2' Tyrone Pandy  10'
Rony Flores  42'
Jeromy James  74'		 Referee: Juan Alas

Game Two[11]

21 May 2018 Belmopan Bandits5 – 3
(8–4 agg.)		Belize Defence ForceIsidoro Beaton Stadium, Belmopan
20:00 Rony Flores  22'
Georgie Welcome  29', 37', 54' (pen.)
Darwin Bermudez  88'		 Trimayne Harris  25', 73' (pen.)
Tarell Flores  62'
 2017–18 Closing Season Champions 
Belmopan Bandits
8th title

Season Statistics

Top Scorers
Rank Player Team Goals*
1 Trimayne Harris Belize Defence Force 13
2 Jonard Castillo Wagiya 10
Rony Flores Belmopan Bandits
4 Hector Martinez Belmopan Bandits 8
Elroy Smith Belmopan Bandits
Alcides Thomas Verdes
7 Jarret Davis Verdes 6
Alexander Peters Freedom Fighters
Luis Torres Placencia Assassins
Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
11 Inri Gonzaga San Pedro Pirates 5
Daniel Jimenez Police United
Krisean Lopez Verdes

* Includes playoff goals.

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDate
Byron UsherPolice UnitedSan Pedro Pirates6–1 (A)14 January 2018
Luis TorresPlacencia AssassinsPolice United3–3 (A)21 January 2018
Luis MenciaSan Pedro PiratesFreedom Fighters4–1 (H)18 February 2018
Hector MartinezBelmopan BanditsSan Pedro Pirates4–3 (A)11 March 2018
Georgie WelcomeBelmopan BanditsBelize Defence Force5–3 (H)21 May 2018

Awards

In the post-game ceremonies of the final game of the season, the individual awards were announced.[11]

Award Recipient Team
Golden Boot (Regular Season) Jonard Castillo Wagiya
Golden Boot (Overall) Trimayne Harris Belize Defence Force
MVP (Regular Season) Trimayne Harris Belize Defence Force
MVP (Playoff) Georgie Welcome Belmopan Bandits
Best Young Player Jonard Castillo Wagiya
Best Midfielder Denmark Casey Jr. Verdes
Best Defender Dalton Eiley Belmopan Bandits
Golden Glove Selvin Zeron Sagastume Verdes
Best Coach Kent Gabourel Belmopan Bandits
Best Manager Captain Kenrick Martinez Belize Defence Force

Aggregate table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Belmopan Bandits 28 20 6 2 71 31 +40 66 2018 CONCACAF League
2 Verdes 28 18 5 5 58 25 +33 59
3 Belize Defence Force 28 12 5 11 49 36 +13 41
4 Police United 28 12 4 12 43 53 −10 40
5 San Pedro Pirates 27 11 2 14 47 49 −2 35
6 Placencia Assassins 28 6 9 13 37 56 −19 27
7 Wagiya 27 7 4 16 43 74 −31 25
8 Freedom Fighters 28 7 1 20 31 77 −46 22
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
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References
  1. "San Pedro Pirates to take part in 2017 Premier League of Belize". San Pedro Sun. 10 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  2. "PLB 2017-2018 Opening Season kicks off with a bang!!". Amandala. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 23 August 2017.
  3. "Playoff favorites, Verdes and Bandits win by 6-goal margins in PLB semifinals game 1; on pace to finals showdown". Amandala. 25 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  4. "Semifinals completed; the stage is set for PLB Finals game 1". Amandala. 29 November 2017. Retrieved 30 November 2017.
  5. "Verdes, 1-nil, over Bandits in game 1 of PLB Finals; game 2 "for all the marbles" on Saturday at Isidoro Beaton". Amandala. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  6. "Verdes FC is the new PLB 2017-2018 Opening Season champion". Amandala. 13 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  7. "Belize Premier League names individual awards winners". The Guardian. 14 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  8. "Verdes FC to begin defence of national football title on Sunday". The Guardian. 11 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  9. "PLB semifinals drama; top seeds shaken up in 1st leg". Amandala. 25 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  10. "Old capital vs new – BDF defenders vs the Bandits from Belmopan in PLB Closing Season Finals". Amandala. 19 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  11. "Bandits rule!". Amandala. 26 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
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