Four teams register victories
FOUR teams registered victories when the East Demerara Football Reunion tournament got under way over the weekend at the Victoria and Plaisance Community Centres

In the opening match at the Victoria ground, Ann’s Grove overcame nemesis Golden Stars by a 3-2 margin, while Victoria Kings beat GFC 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out after the two teams were locked 1-1 at the end of regulation and extra time.

In the two other games played at the Plaisance Community Centre ground, BK International Western Tigers beat Bakewell Buxton Stars 3-2 and Fruta Conquerors defeated BV/Triumph 2-0.

In the first encounter at the Victoria ground, Ann’s Grove overcame their old rivals in a thrilling encounter.

The huge crowd, who turned up at the ground, got their money’s worth as the game was played very competitively.

Kwesi Halley put Golden Stars ahead in the 10th minute after he received a cross from Carlos Kingston and fired it past custodian Helton Fraser.

Ann’s Grove then made it 2-0 when Oswald ‘Corn’ Duke netted in the 17th minute and brought the crowd alive.

In the second half Golden Stars came out looking for their stars to shine. Randy King came in and this injected life into the game, as they turned on the heat on Ann’s Grove.

Trion Trotman put his side ahead in the 56th minute with a well-placed shot from just inside the 18-yard box and received a through pass from King who was very busy.

Dwayne Rogers rocked the net in the 67th for Ann’s Grove to level the score and open the pace of the game.

As it got closer to game time both sides started to tackle fiercely; Randy King was given a red card in the 78th minute after receiving a second yellow card.

Duke then sealed the deal for Ann’s Grove in the 85th minute when he dribbled the last defender and goalkeeper and placed the ball in the net.

Ann’s Grove will now meet the winner of the match between Plaisance and Alpha United who are to meet on Saturday.

In the feature match on Saturday, Kings defeated GFC 4-1 on penalty kicks after the game was locked 1-1 after regulation and extra time.

Rolston ‘Crespo’ Morrison put the Kings ahead in the 39th after he received a beautiful cross from Kwesi De Souza on the left flank. The Kings dominated the first but failed to put the ball behind the net when the opportunities came.

Morrison missed an easy chance in the 42nd minute after being one on one with GFC’s keeper.

They showed their superior skills and technique as Andrew Holder, Calvin De Souza and Morrison tormented the opponents’ defence. At halftime the score remained at 1-0 in favour of Kings. However, in the second session, Kings missed a few chances that almost cost them the match.

Rolston Morrison was replaced by Dwayne after he pulled a groin muscle, and 15-year-old striker Delroy Thomas came in for Kwesi De Souza and Ron Collins came in for Mortimer Murphy.

This opened up loop holes in Kings’ middle-field area, as their defence was placed under severe pressure from national striker Peter Parks and guest player Terrence ‘Old Head Lewis’. However, robust defending by Shawn Samuels, Clayton Wilson and Samuel Blackett saved Kings from embarrassment.

Parks showed his class by finishing clinically in the 70th minute after he received a set pass from Chad Fernandes who was busy all night. The Kings’ defence was sometimes guilty of ball-watching and Parks capitalised on this a lot but failed to finish when he got the opportunities.

The game was locked at 1-1 after regulation and extra time, and went down to penalty where the Kings came out victorious by a 4-1 margin. Lewis, Parks, and Anderson missed their penalties, while Chad Fernandes netted his own.

In the other games played Sunday at Plaisance ground Western Tigers knocked out Bakewell Buxton Stars 3-2 in a tight battle. Buxton came from two goals down and through Devon Millington (45th), Kevin Gordon (38th) and Rayon Thomas (89th) found the back of the nets for Tigers; while Quesi Williams (49th), and Leon Yaw (63rd) scored for the Bakewell boys.

In the other game Fruta Conquerors got the better of BV/Triumph by a 2-0 margin.

Jomo Williams scored a double in the 15th and 35th minutes to ensure his side progressed to the second round.

Manasseh Primo was given marching orders in the 39th minute after receiving a second yellow card for foul tackling. He will now miss the next match.