GHB/DMW 6th Int’l Indoor Festival
—Contested men’s open final last evening
HIKERS and Old Fort Hockey Clubs both recorded exciting victories over Malvern and GCC respectively in the two semi final of the Guyana Hockey Board (GHB)/ Diamond Mineral Water 6th Annual International Indoor Hockey festival at the Cliff Anderson Sports yesterday.

The two winners were scheduled to contest the men’s final last evening at the same venue.

GCC’s Kevin Spencer (blue outfit) takes on Old Fort’s Aderemi Simon during yesterday’s men’s semi-final at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. At left is Old Fort’s Brandon Kowlessar (Photo by Sonell Nelson)

Last evening also, Old Fort men’s veterans team were down to meet GCC in the final of that category while GCC ladies and their counterparts from Malvern of Trinidad were scheduled to contest the ladies final.

In the first of the two men’s open semi-final, Hikers scraped past Malvern by a 5-4 margin while Old Fort narrowly edged GCC 7-6 in what can be described as the best game of the tournament up to yesterday afternoon.

In the first of the two semi finals, Shane Samuels and Robert France both registered field goal doubles for the local side (Hikers).

Samuels in the 8th and 9th minutes and France in the 27th and 33rd minutes.

The team’s play maker Jerazano Bell supported with a field goal of his own on the stroke of the final whistle (40th minute).

Scoring for Malvern were Joshua DeFour with two field goals in the 13th and 24th minutes; Colin Byron with a field goal in the 29th minute and Darryl Hume with a penalty corner in the 34th minute.

In the second semi-final, Old Fort’s Aderemi Simon registered a treble in the 12th, 13th and 29th minutes. All three were field goals, while Canadian based Guyanese Jonathan Roberts supported with a field goal in the 10th minute and a penalty corner in the 13th minute.

Guest Player Nicolas Wren of Trinidad scored a field goal in the 24th minute while another Trinidadian guest player Aidun DeGannes scored a field goal in the 26th minute.

For GCC, defender Dwayne Scott netted a treble in the 29th, 35th and 37th minutes and all three goals came via penalty corners.

Orlando Semple opened the scoring for the Bourda team with a 6th minute field goal and doubled up his tally in the 21st minute with another field goal.

Devin Hooper chipped in with a penalty corner of his own in the 32nd minute.

Playing in front a sizeable crowd which was made up of players from the other teams as well as family members and supporters of the local teams, Old Fort took the fight to GCC in the second semi final but six minutes into the session, GCC countered and Semple received a short pass while in the opposition’s `D’ and converted well.

But Old Fort kept up the pressure and was able to equalize four minutes later as they launched a counter attack on their opponents and the ball was played from the left flank to the right and was crossed to Simon, drawing GCC’s custodian Michael Xavier out of his goal, and Simon made no mistake and finished well.

Two minutes later Roberts recorded the first of his double, via a short corner.

This was followed by goal number three for the South Ruimveldt based team, compliments of Roberts after he ran on to a ball that was played from the right flank to goal and got his stick to it to carry the score to 4-1 in Old Fort’s favour.

Leading 4-1 going into the second session, GCC immediately shortened the lead through a Semple field goal.

But Old Fort responded almost immediately, as Wren received the ball in the circle and flicked it past Xavier.

Old Fort went even further ahead when DeGannes received the ball at the top of the `D’ and flicked it past a tired looking Xavier.

GCC continued to attack the opposition down the left flan and forced a short corner which Scott converted, it was the first of his three goals.

In the end, the Old Fort stood up firmly to the test and earned the right to reach defending champions Hikers in last night’s final.