… Topp XX to clash with Ann’s Grove, Alpha face Seawall tonight
EXCITEMENT was aplenty on Wednesday evening at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground when the 21st edition of the Kashif and Shanghai Football (K&S) tournament officially got on the way. In the night’s planned double-header, defending champions BK International Western Tigers clawed their way to a 3-2 victory of Buxton United, while Bartica’s Liquid Gold edged Riddim Squad 4-3 on penalty.
While the champions have lived to see another day, their performance was nothing to cheer about since it showed up their deficiency to properly defend against an energetic and attacking opponent like Buxton United.
Gideon Payne began his hunt for the most goal scorer title in the tournament, netting a double (7th,  51st minutes) while Sherman David blasted in Western Tigers’ third goal just before the half-time whistle was sounded by referee Stanley Lancaster.
Former national cricketer Clive Andrews, who’s also his team’s hit-man, scored for Buxton United in the 57th minute and about six minutes later, Orson Washington scored their other goal.
Tigers came out in their customary yellow and black outfit amidst loud cheers from their supporters and started the game well, even though missing some familiar faces like their leading goalscorer Devon Millington and Trinidad and Tobago mid-field player Shawn Bevaney from their line-up.
With the flashy playmaker Stellon Davids on their side, the Buxton United defenders came across unsettled and found it difficult to get possession of the ball and as a reult Payne got his first goal thanks to his early persistence.
However on the same note, Buxton almost equalised after Andrews was able to use his excellent ball-controlling skills, mixed with some fancy footwork to get past the leaky Tigers’ defence but had his effort sent over the crossbar by his fellow player who simply had an empty goal to head the ball into.
Nothing much changed in the first half as Andrews continuously tormented the champions’ defence until things took a turn on the stroke of halftime.
Payne was firing down the right flank and made his way in the 18-yard box of the East Coast team when he was pushed over by a defender and referee Lancaster wasted no time in pointing to the penalty area.
The sturdy-built defender Sherman David made no mistake from the ‘charity’ spot in giving his team a 2-0 lead going into the second half.
In the second stanza of their clash, Buxton seemed to be the more aggressive and hungrier of the two teams even though going down 3-0 just after the start, with Andrews attacking on every opportunity given.
Andrews easily worked his way around the Tigers defence again and this time instead of passing it off, he made no mistake in finishing it himself.  Minutes later, Andrews sent a lobbing ball to a lurking Washington who calmly converted the goal.
Both sides tried to get more goals but epically failed. The spectators began to exit the venue way before the clash ended after being pushed to boredom by the two teams. The Tigers lived on to play at the Guyana National Stadium on December 27 against the winners of Liquid Gold/Camptown matchup.
The opening game had everything to be classed as a classic except for a regulation and extra goal.
Both sides, Riddim Squad and Liquid Gold, displayed some brilliant football, each having an equal chance at scoring but though they failed to find the back of the net, fans at the GFC had a ‘hold-your-breath’ moment during the penalty shootout where the team from Region Seven prevailed.
Meanwhile, the tournament continues tonight with another double-header with Ann’s Grove facing the most decorated team in the tournament – five-time champions Bakewell Topp XX – in the feature clash while the curtain-raiser will see Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United coming up against Seawall United.