WITH goals from Daniel Wilson (26th), Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson (56th) and Kithson Bain (90th), Guyana’s Alpha ‘the Hammer’ United outclassed Suriname’s Inter Moengotapoe 3-0 in the first game of Group One when the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship kicked off yesterday. It was the sixth meeting between the two South America-based clubs; the first in approximately three years, with the Suriname side winning the previous five clashes.

The game which kicked off at 16:00hrs at the Guyana National Stadium was played in-front of a small crowd at the country’s premier venue as coach Wayne Dover’s men took at least 20 minutes to put together a ‘proper knock’ but eventually came into their own.
Alpha United, aiming to compete at the CONCACAF Champions League, started with Ronson Williams between the uprights, defenders Jamaal Smith, Quincy Madramootoo, Kirk Duckworth and Kris Camacho, while in the midfield Panamanian Manuel Vargas teamed up with Richardson and Jamaican Wayne Ellis, and up front, Bain was joined by Wilson.
With both teams holding down the number one spot in their respective countries, the football displayed was obviously far from the best, nonetheless, it was the Guyanese side who dominated the contest to finish with the three important points.
Alpha United will now face Trinidad and Tobago’s Pro-League side Central FC on Sunday April 19, while Suriname will face the Twin Island Republic team tomorrow (Friday) at the same venue. Only one team will exit the group.
Former England International and Central FC head coach Terry Fenwick sat in the stands, paying close attention to two of his virgin opposition and Alpha United showed why they have stood tall on the local scene for a number of years.
Bain sent a through pass to Wilson who went one-on-one with Inter Moengotapoe goalkeeper Huiswoud Obrendo and the dapper forward made no mistake in tactically finishing to an open net to give his club the 1-0 advantage – a score that stood until the early stages of the second half.
Despite having a few ‘certain-goal’ chances in the first half, Alpha United had to wait almost ten minutes to double their score, thanks to their captain Richardson.
It was a simple header as the striker netted from point-blank range when he pounced on a ball that the Surinamese keeper could not get a hand on properly after saving a solid shot by the Panamanian.
In the 60th minute, Suriname’s Stekkel Romano forced Alpha’s Williams to pull off a beautiful save when he hammered a right-footed volley just inside the 18-yard area.
Alpha United, already controlling the pace of the game and the position, scored their final goal of the game, compliments of Bain.
The Grenadian international turned sweetly between two defenders upon collecting a pass from substitute Sheldon Holder and nicely slipped it past the out-stretched goalkeeper, much to the delight of the small but appreciative crowd.
After the game, Dover spoke of his happiness to finally get the better of the side that had defeated him on each of their five previous matchups and he lauded his men for playing as expected.

By Rawle Toney