SANTOS and Fruta Conquerors Football Clubs moved one step closer to the championship round of the Milo Under-23 Competition when they defeated their opponents in the quarterfinals on Sunday night at the Tucville Playfield.
In the curtain-raiser of the double-header, Santos humbled Georgetown Football Club (GFC) 3-1 while in the feature match tournament hosts, Fruta Conquerors needled Northern Rangers to secure their spot in the semis.
The last two quarter-final matches are scheduled to be contested tomorrow at the same venue as Beacon United face Flamingo in the opening match from 18:00hrs then the night wraps up with Guyana Defence Force (GDF) going head-to-head with Guyana Police Force (GDF).
The semi-finals are scheduled to unfold this Friday, while the tournament concludes on Sunday September 25.
On Sunday night, in the GFC/Santos showdown, the former drew first blood in the 15th minute with a successful strike from Colin Harris but GFC were able to equalise some time after through a Cardel Tudor goal in the 30th minute.
The second half resumed with the teams still in deadlock. However, the 70th minute saw Santos’ Jermain Bamfield regain the lead to ease some of the tension for his side.
GFC then began playing with more urgency in search of another equaliser but ended up conceding another goal, as national player William Europe found the back of the net in the 80th minute to cement their chance to progress.
In the unrelenting battle between Northern Rangers and Fruta Conquerors, it took the 18th-minute success from Eon Alleyne to decide the match, as the two sides played matching football with resolute defending and stern attacking. (Kizan Brumell)