`The Hammer’ nail GDF 3-1 to advance to second round

CFU Champions League
ALPHA `The Hammer’ United `nailed’ Guyana Defence Force 3-1 yesterday, to advance to the second round of the Caribbean Football Union’s (CFU) Champions League.
Playing in front of a modest crowd at the GCC ground, Alpha United’s guest player Oneke Forde slammed home a double in the 38th and 66th minutes while Elton Brown supported with one goal in the 42nd minute.
Replying for the army team was Marlon Benjamin in the 90th minute.
The win for Guyana’s champion club has earned them a place in the second round of the Champions League which is set for Puerto Rico from April 13.
In yesterday’s game, Alpha United surged into the lead through a defence mix-up on the part of the soldiers.
The ball was played from the left side of the army’s goal across a crowded goal mouth and Forde who hails from Jamaica latched on to it and booted it powerfully into the opposition’s goal at first post.
One minute later, GDF were reduced to 10 men as Shavane Seaforth was red-carded for ungentlemanly conduct.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, the soldiers held their own but were guilty of playing too much contact football.
Three minutes before the end of the first session Browne sent Alpha United further ahead with a blistering right-foot shot from approximately 30 yards out.
The ball was played down the right wing and was crossed to the supporting unmarked Brown who took control and while on the run, booted it powerfully past the hapless GDF custodian Delon Younge.
Leading 2-0 at the interval, Alpha United came out looking more purposeful than in the first period as they upped the tempo and raided the Army’s goal mouth relentlessly and were rewarded in the 66th minute when Forde received a pass on the left wing and placed it clinically past Younge into second post.
Fought as they did, GDF failed to reduce the lead as Alpha United’s custodian Ronson Williams stood up to the test and brought off a few magnificent saves.
He (Williams) was however beaten by Benjamin from a play that started down the middle of his team’s half of the field, but it was much too late.
For the first 45 minutes of the game, GDF took two direct shots to Alpha’s goal and both were saved while Alpha also had two shots to their opponents’ goal and both were on target.
GDF forced four corners which were all wasted while Alpha had one that was also wasted.
However, in the second session, Alpha had seven shots to the army’s goal, scoring with their fourth shot, while GDF took three shots to their opponents’ goal, scoring with the third.
Alpha also forced four corners while the soldiers were awarded one.
After the game, Alpha United’s head coach Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover said while he is happy with the victory, he is disappointed with the way his charges went about their business.
The coach added that with two weeks before the second round gets under way in Puerto Rico; there is quite a lot of work to be done.
He blamed his team’s dismal performance on some players’ absence from practice sessions and said he would have a talk with the team’s manager Odinga Lumumba about that particular issue.
Dover said the fitness of the team was suspect especially during the latter stage of the game, but stressed that this was so because some players are taking things for granted.
“The army was playing with 10 men from late in the first session but yet they finished stronger than my guys.”
He admitted that his charges apparently got too casual after leading by a 3-0 margin from the 66th minute.
He congratulated the army for the fight they put up and wished them well next year.
Alpha United will now join Suriname’s Walking Boys from Group `D’ in the second round of the competition.
Walking Boys defeated GDF by a 2-0 margin on last Friday and were held to a 1-1 draw by Alpha on Sunday.

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