GHB/Farfan and Mendes Men’s First Division League …
THE GCC hockey team duplicated their first-round performance in the Guyana Hockey Board’s (GHB)/Farfan and Mendes Men’s 1st Division tournament with a 2-1 win against Old Fort, but Hikers are the 2009 champions.

According to a release, in the final match of the 2009 League, GCC edged Old Fort by 2-1.

Although the Hikers men had already secured enough points to lift the trophy, the battle between the GCC and Old Fort was not short-changed as the long-standing rivalry of the teams left reputations at stake.

After a bit of a scramble in the opening five minutes, GCC settled into a smooth passing game and drove the attack consistently down the right flank.

The tough Old Fort defence was eventually breached in the 18th minute as Alan Fernandes pounced on a loose ball in the circle to flick home the opener.

The other Fernandes on show, Philip, took the GCC tally to two, just five minutes later with a clinically placed penalty corner strike.

While GCC came out looking controlled at the beginning of the second half, Old Fort’s pressure to score took its toll and GCC seemed to have lost their momentum.

Jason DeSantos made the Bourda boys pay for their loose play as he received a through pass on the right wing and at full speed let fly a blistering shot from the narrowest of angles catching GCC goalkeeper Michael Xavier asleep between the uprights.

The Old Fort goal seemed to add to their determination but GCC was equal to the task as, despite end-to-end action, the two teams managed no additional goals for the rest of the game.

The Guyana Hockey Board congratulated the Hikers as league winners and will be planning an exhibition game and trophy presentation shortly.