Camptown beats Topp XX  2-1 for third place
THEY came, they saw, they conquered,  was the story of Alpha ‘the Hammer’ United when they edged Pele 3-2 to claim the 2010/11 Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament title and the $2M first place cash prize. The finals was hailed as the ‘best ever’ by many including the organizers, as an over capacity Guyana National Stadium watched the two teams battled each other in a game that kept fans on their feet throughout the entire ordeal.

Both teams walked onto the stadium ground with the customary FIFA anthem playing in the background but the famed football ‘sacred song’ was almost drowned out by the shouts and screams of thousands of vociferous fans.
Everyone expected both sides to play hard, but the scent of freshly minted money; $2M of it to be exact propelled their performance.
Devon Millington, who has found the net for Pele in every game, duly left his mark in the 14th minute of play when he collected a pass which came from Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson at the top of the 18 yard box and made his move, closer to the goal, by using some fancy foot work to get around Alpha’s stubborn defence, with a hard right foot shot that sent goal keeper Ronson Williams flying high but couldn’t get to it.
Pandemonium broke out around the stadium but that would soon turn to silence a few seconds later when Dwight Peters (15th minute) pulled Alpha back with a tactical goal – broke away with a pass from Philbert Moffat in the midfield and then using his speed to full advantage, he got around Charles Pollard and tucked the ball in the corner, beating Sean Johnson in goal.
Pele’s problem with finishing and converting the easy goals haunted them again in the finals as Richardson and especially Millington were guilty of  throwing away goals but it was the ‘Hammers’ who capitalized on every opportunity.
The eventual winners got the lead in the 26th minute when their captain Howard Lowe pounced on a loose ball in the 18 yards box from a corner.
There were more moans and groans coming from the stands than actually cheers as Alpha celebrated.
However, Pele’s Captain  Richardson took the game over and became a thorn in the feet of the Alpha defence as the Carolina Rail Hawks star showed why he was the first Guyanese to be signed in the USA’s Major League Soccer (MLS).
His persistence paid off in the 35th minute when he worked his way from the left midfield area and using his excellent ball control skills he sent the ball over the head of Williams who had to come off his line to try and stop the flashy player.
The scores were leveled 2-2 at the close of the first half and things never changed in the second half. Pele had the most chances of scoring between the two teams and again their strikers were guilty of the ‘throwing away goals crime’.
The game seemed set to go into extra time and fans were already prepared to see more action as the fourth official showed three minutes extra time to play but Alpha had other plans.
Dwight Peters sent a lob over to the hungry Dominican player Kurlson Benjamin who almost had all the time in the world to give his side the winning goal.
Benjamin, 26, who is also his country all time leading goal scorer calmly collected Peters’ pass and easily made his way around Pele’s defence sending the diminutive Johnson sprawling in goal.
By the time the goal celebration was over, there was just enough time for referee Stanley ‘Shabba’ Lancaster to blast his ‘Fox40’ to signal the end of the game.
A dejected and disappointing look told a sorry story for Pele and their supporters as Alpha United was joined by President Bharrat Jagdeo on the field for the celebration of their second Kashif and Shanghai title, having won their first title in 2007..
Meanwhile, in the third place game, Sunburst Camptown came from a goal down in the first half to clinch a 2-1 over Bakewell Topp XX.
Keon Sears sent Topp XX in front with his 34th minute strike but Nigel ‘Powers’ Codrington (57th) and Devon Forde (87th) pulled it back for Camptown.