Wilson hits in hat trick as Tigers claw GFC out of tournament
GAVIN Wilson struck a hat-trick of goals to lead his team BK International Western Tigers to a commanding 4-1 victory over Georgetown Football Club (GFC), when action in the third annual Buxton Stars organized Mackeson Stout/Digicel Sweet 16 football tournament continued at the Buxton Community Centre ground Wednesday night.
In the feature match of the double-header, host team Bakewell Buxton Stars had to pull out all the stops to thwart a spirited effort from East Bank’s Grove Hi-Tech before coming away with a 2-1 victory that was secured in the final minute of extra time. BK International Western Tigers are the reigning Kashif and Shangai champions and despite the internal rift that caused several of their more established players to sever ties with the West Ruimveldt based club, they still managed to stamp their authority over GFC.
Within the first minute of play, the eventual winner who marched on to face Winners Connections in their quarterfinal matchup, saw a Devon Moseley shot taken from the top of the 18 yard box, going over the cross bar.
That move opened the eyes of Wilson who flew GFC’s half side trap midway inside their own half and round the ball past an advancing Brian Robinson who stood between the uprights for the Bourda based team to send the Tigers into the lead.
Three minutes later and a Nedd Fraser header was saved by Robinson, with the rebound falling in the path of an advancing Jorell Tyrell whose ensuing shot was punched wide for a corner.
As GFC sought to regain their composure following Wilson’s strike, Fraser increased their woes with his strike in the 20th minute when he outran the defense and calmly placed the ball to the left of an advancing Robinson.
Down by two goals to nil, GFC’s woes continued when their playmaker Chad Fernandes received a caution for unsportsmanlike behaviour two minutes after Fraser’s strike.
The Bourda based side continued to fight even though the score line weighed heavily in favour of their opponents and they were rewarded with a free kick at the top of the box, but Roy Stanton sent the resulting kick high over the cross bar.
They paid for that blunder when Wilson beat Robinson from inside the box with a scorcher in the 28th minute that sent his team further into the lead and at lemon time, they led 3-0.
Numerous attacks were made on the GFC goal area by the West Ruimveldt based Kashif and Shangai champions, led by Wilson with amicable support from Fraser, Devon Moseley and Ryan Thomas.
Despite being down by three goals, GFC continued to fight forcing the Tigers defense which was marshaled by skipper Sherman David, to work overtime as they sought to reduce the lead.
Wilson increased same when he got his hattrick of goals, beating Robinson with a well placed shot to his right in the 62nd minute, following which he was substituted by the technical staff led by coach Kevin Pearce.
GFC managed to pull one back in the 65th minute thanks to the sterling efforts of Marvin Cole but it was a little too late for his team who made a graceful exit from the tournament.
In the feature match of the evening, football fans within the community and across the diaspora of the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) gathered at the venue to witness the home team Bakewell Buxton Stars who along with Golden Stars are the lone teams from the ECD still in the tournament, oppose Grove Hi-Tech.
Buxton Stars felt they had the lead when a Randy Andrews shot in the first three minutes of play made its way to goal only to see Seon Simpson who had an excellent day in between the uprights for Grove Hi-Tech, effortlessly punched the ball away for a corner.
Neville Gulliver also had the opportunity to send Buxton Stars into the lead in the 14th minute when he outsprinted the two defenders who were tasked with marking him, but with an advancing Simpson approaching him, he tripped over the ball which was calmly taken by the custodian.
At the other end of the field, Grove’s Quincy Tinnie had a shot saved by Buxton’s Seon Thomas as a see-saw affair ensued within the first 15 minutes of the half.
Buxton were rewarded when Alistair Deen who was earlier denied by Simpson, beat the custodian with a well placed header to his right from a Sherwin Griffith corner kick in the 16th minute that sparked celebrations on and off the field.
When many thought the goal would have knocked the wind out of Grove Hi-Tech’s sail, it added more wind as the East Bank team’s technical staff introduced Alex Sinclair into the game 10 minutes after for Tinnie who had suffered an hamstring injury.
The move paid dividends, as Sinclair in tandem with brothers Clive and Romell Matthews, made several raids on Buxton’s defense forcing Griffith, Andrews and Kevin Absanah to work overtime and prevent the opposition from equalizing, as they defended their lead at the end of the first half.
With the Atlantic breeze blowing strongly on their backs, Grove Hi-Tech began the second half in search of the equalizer, with Rondell Alleyne who replaced Clive Matthews in the 48th minute of the game, forcing Thomas to affect a save from the top right hand side of the box.
The saying ‘good things come to he who waits,’ was applicable to Grove who finally broke down the walls built by the Buxtonians defensive line up in the 73rd minute of play.
Thomas had come off his line to punch a cross that was sent from Sinclair and intended for Romell Matthews but the loose ball landed at the feet of an advancing Dominic Garnett who did not hesitate to send same back to Buxton’s goal, beating Thomas, who collided with one of his players to the left.
The game was halted for a few minutes as Thomas had to seek medical assistance from his technical staff but when play was restarted, both teams were bent on playing defense as they forced the game into overtime.
A goal mouth scrimmage in the final minute of the second half of added time saw Buxton’s Jollyan Fraser placing the ball into the back of the net with a back heel while the Grove Hi-Tech team was claiming a handled ball goal to the officials at the sound of the final whistle.
Gracefully, they exited the tournament they were competing in for the first time, while Bakewell Buxton Stars advanced to oppose Flamingo in their quarter-final matchup on a date to be announced.
Meanwhile, the resumption of the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Super League has forced the organisers to push back the commencement of the quarterfinal round from tonight to next Tuesday night, at either the Buxton or Plaisance Community Centre ground respectively