HIKERS men and the Pizza Hut GCC ladies lead their respective classes of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB)-sanctioned LUCOZADE indoor league following the latest rounds last Saturday.Hikers, Old Fort Stallions, Bounty GCC and Vintage will move onto the knockout phase of the tournament while on the distaff end, Pizza Hut ladies, Hikers, Spartans and Old Fort Shooting Stars are through.
In the league format, Aroydy Branford of Hikers scored 40 goals and is currently the league leader while Gabriella Xavier of Pizza Hut GCC has scored 10 and is currently leading the females
Meanwhile in Saturday’s games, Game number one saw the GCC Spartans go up against Old Fort. It was a low-scoring but exciting game, as there were valiant efforts from both sides with the Spartans ultimately winning 2-0 thanks to Dominique De Groot and Marzana Fiedtkou.
Bounty GCC clashed with GCC Vintage in the second match of the evening in a nail-biter of a game. At halftime the score was 4-3 in favour of Bounty as both squads displayed their skills at both offence and defence. One more goal was scored in the final minutes of play in the second half and that brought the final count to 4-4.
Alan and Philip Fernandes, and Marcus Fiedtkou were the goalscorers for the Vintage, while Michael Craig, Kareem McKenzie and Peter De Groot were Bounty’s goalscorers. There were no tie-breaker options but both teams were awarded points.
The third game brought the ladies together again when Pizza Hut’s GCC took on Hikers. GCC came out victorious with a full-time score of 4-2 after Kerensa Fernandes added two goals to the total which turned the tide of the game.
The scores were one apiece in the first half but the Hikers took the lead early in the second. Fernandes of GCC retook the lead for her team with FGs one minute apart and that sealed the deal for the Pizza Hut-sponsored squad.
The fourth match of the evening saw a record 26 goals scored the male Hikers team, versus the three goals scored by the Old Fort Knockers.
When the crowd saw that the half-time score was 12-2 in favour of the Hikers they knew that Old Fort would need two miracles and a hex to redeem themselves.
They did not, not by a long shot. To call this a blowout would be the understatement of the tournament.
Aroydy Branford of the Hikers scored a staggering fifteen.
With little bench rest and no mercy Branford went on a rampage that even made the Knockers coach second-guess his strategies. His teammates gave stellar support and the goalkeeper was quick on his feet. The Hikers were at their optimal performance and nothing could stand in their way.
The last game of the evening was a bout between GCC Pitbulls and Old Fort Stallions. After watching their Knockers being pummelled by the Hikers, the Knockers decided to save face and they made an example of GCC with a final score of 5-1.
Jason De Santos led the charge for the Stallions with three goals to his name while Mark Sargeant was the Pitbulls’ only scorer.