Belize City, Belize

Since part of the reason I visited Belize was to celebrate my birthday, I was able to another go to another game courtesy of my wife’s and mother-in-law’s extreme generosity. This match was the one I circled on my calendar because this was a chance to watch the local team, Port Loyola FC, (my mother-in-law is living in Belize City) play in person. Another benefit is that they are competing for the league title so I knew that I was in for a treat.

you saw that right, reunited with my friends from Wagiya

After learning more about the team though their Facebook page, I learned that the squad had two players who are part of the Belize National Team. In addition to their starting goalkeeper Kenroy Tillett, there’s an attacking player named Michael Palacio who is in contention for the golden boot (an award given to the player with most goals during the season). More than that, he is someone that based on watching him play, is destined to continue his playing career beyond his native Belize.

With a chance to jump to the top of the table on the line, the game was moved to their larger home venue. In addition to going to another game, the cherry on top was that I was able to buy a Port Loyola jersey. After thinking that all hope was lost, I saw a message on the team’s Facebook page advertising replica jerseys and boy did I pounce on that opportunity. With the team’s name across my chest, I happily walked into the stadium to find our seats which consisted of rows of concrete benches. Despite the fact that not even the padding from my inflated airbag-sized caboose could soften the hard seats, I was in football heaven.

me watching another soccer game in beautiful Belize

The home side came out swinging by jumping out to a 1-0 lead with a volleying strike from #99. After the first goal, my wife commandeered my phone to air-drop photos from our adventures to hers. By the time I got my phone back, having to resort to watching the game without my phone (*gasps in Millenial), the lead ballooned to 4-0 after just 20 minutes of play.

the second goal from the 5 consecurative scoring spree from Port Loyola

After Wagiya brought the energy at the first game I went to, Port Loyola got the memo to ensure that they wouldn’t be overshadowed by the visitors. They made their presence known by serenading the stadium with the sounds of vuvuzelas after each goal. The next goal came from start player himself, #9, Michael Palacio.

Despite a blowout being well underway, Wagiya refused to go quietly, adding a goal in what would be one of the most insanely chaotic and wonderful goal sequences that I have ever seen. After Port Loyola missed a penalty kick, the ball bounced sharply off the post, traveling quickly towards the home team’s goal that was then controlled by a Wagiya player. With a low laser of a shot, Wagiya prevented the game from ending in a shutout, the score now being 5-1 as the first half came to a close.

As the second half began, I had the subconscious hope that this would be a continuation of the scoreboard fireworks that took place in the first. While the second didn’t match in quantity, it made up for it in quality as Port Layola grew their lead to 6-1 with a shot that curled its way past the Wagiya keeper. With the score as lopsided as it was, the home side started making substitutions, including a rare goalkeeper switch. After a yellow card was awarded to a Port Layola player for hitting a Wagiya player in one of the most sensitive parts of the male body, the away side narrowed the deficit with a second goal.

second goal from Wagiya making the score line 6-2

With no scoreboard visible on the field, I was able to keep track of how much time was left courtesy of a fan in front of me keeping track with the stopwatch app from his iPhone. After an entertaining game that included making friends with two fans sitting next to us, the whistle blew with the final score reading 6-2 in favor of Port Layola.

After the game, I messaged Port Layola on Facebook expressing my gratitude for helping me get a jersey. After a brief exchange, they asked me to send a photo of myself at the game that they could use on social media, which can be seen below.

I’ll conclude this post with a suggestion; check out Port Layola on Facebook. They have great content and embody what it means to be a club that is deeply intertwined with the community they are based in.