COUVA, Trinidad (July 28, 2025)—Group B action of the 2025 CFU Club Shield, on Monday, saw Paradise FC International of Grenada come from behind to beat AS Etoile De Matoury of French Guiana 4-2 at the Ato Boldon Stadium.

The result placed Paradise in the middle of the Group B point standings with four points, and St. Paul’s in the cellar with 0, ending their campaigns. Moca FC of the Dominican Republic, with six points, advanced to the next round. 

The match sprang to life almost immediately with Paradise International having a chance to score as early as the 4th minute, but Henson Williams shot into the side netting after a flick on by Joshua Isaac. 

The men from the Spice Island continued pressing with high line, and thought they had been rewarded for their early efforts, but the goal was disallowed when Williams strayed offside.

AS Etoile De Matoury was soon on the attack, and Jeremy Richardson was called into action to save a powerful Jules Habbo strike, parrying away for a corner kick. 

The goal didn’t take long in coming courtesy of Romaric Boutou. The forward collected neatly in the box to shoot low and hard past Richardson in the 13th minute. With the lead now, AS Etoile De Matoury began to dominate possession with methodical build-up play, and Richardson was sharp off line to claim a Habbo cross with Boutou lurking on the back post.

Doekoe Lucien should have doubled his team’s lead in the 27th minute with a breakaway attempt, but Richardson pulled off a point-blank save to keep his team in the encounter. The Grenadian custodian was again called into action in the 31st minute, closing space quickly to rush Boutou into an errant shot.

Paradise FC International had a rare attacking opportunity in the 33rd minute when Henson Williams found Keston Williams with a cross, but Keston Williams failed to hit the target from just inside the penalty area. The relentless attack continued from the French Guiana outfit, and in the 40th minute, Doekoe Lucien floated a delightful cross, but Calvin Soga hit his effort over the crossbar from close range. The second goal came when Richardson brought down Soga inside the penalty area. Habbo stepped up to slot past Richardson calmly, giving his team a two-goal lead going into halftime.

Upon resumption, it was Paradise International that got off to a better start. Just as in the first half, they managed to create the first goal attempt. Isaac was played in smartly, but well-placed Florent Jarette saved his shot. 

Paradise International kept up the attacking intent, and Kieshon Clark shot wide moments later after some good build-up play. Meanwhile, on the other end, Soga had two chances in quick succession but failed to trouble Richardson on both. 

Paradise International was rewarded for their industry and managed to pull a goal back in the 64th minute after Keston Williams firmly hit a Kevon Maitland square pass home. Boutou displayed some good footwork to get shot off, but Richardson dove full length to his left to keep the curling effort out.

The equalizer and Keston Williams’ brace came in the 73rd when he reacted first after Jarette spilled a long-range effort from Isaac. 

Jarette was kept busy and had to pull off a double save to keep the score level. With the game firmly in the balance, both teams attacked with reckless abandon, and Maitland kept the Etoile De Matoury defence on their heels. His quick thinking in the 80th minute set the table for Isaac to give his team the lead. 

Maitland’s quick restart after Jarette handled the ball outside the box allowed the skipper to slot into an open goal. Chasing the game now, Cerezo Habbo saw his left-footed effort cannon off the crossbar in the 86th minute.

Maitland capped off a man-of-the-match effort with the icing on the cake and the pick of the goals in the match, well into the second-half stoppage time. The skillful winger ghosted past two defenders before curling a left-footed effort into the top corner to cap off a sensational come-from-behind win for Paradise FC International.