Sunburst Camptown, Alpha, Beacon and Fruta Conquerors reach final four
IT was two wet evenings of great football at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground on Sunday and Monday, where the final four clubs in the Georgetown Football Association (GFA)-organised, Banks DIH/Banks Beer-sponsored Soccer Festival were decided. Beacon were on their goal-scoring range as they slay Black Pearl 6-1 in the opening match in Monday night’s action, while Fruta Conquerors turned back the challenge of Santos via the penalty-kick route, following a 1-1 deadlock at the end of regulation and extra time.
In Sunday’s action, Sunburst Camptown edged the home team one-nil in another exciting display of football, while Alpha United continued their dominance on the local football scene with a 2-0 victory over Riddim Squad.
Phillip Rowley and Mikhel Stuart scored doubles while Rensford Coleridge and Paul Giles accounted for the other two goals in Beacon’s victory over Black Pearl, for whom Robert Fraser scored a consolation goal.
The supporting game was another exciting displayed for the fans as Santos endured an unfortunate evening against the youthful Fruta Conquerors lineup in what was described as a showdown of skill and youth both technically and tactically, from both teams.
Fruta opened the scoring through Dwayne Lawrence in the 43rd minute, a strike that sent his side in the lead at the end of the first half, which they held onto, until Santos’ experienced forward Gerald Wittington equalised with a beauty of a shot past Fruta Conquerors custodian.
Santos held on to regulation time and extra time was introduced and they both worked to hold the score, forcing the game to be decided from the spot, where Fruta Conquerors came out victorious 5-2 to gain entry to the final four.
Sunburst Camptown defeated GFC 1-0 in what was an exciting football played physically to secure themselves a place in the semifinals, with both teams demonstrating good football skills during the first half, amidst a heavy downpour of rain.
On resumption of play, the teams continued their tactical football plays which saw good build-ups and defensive works, but the goal-scoring opportunities were either saved by the custodians or squandered.
Persistence was the order of the day for the Campbellville-based Sunburst Camptown lineup and they were the ones who went ahead when Nigel ‘Powers’ Codrington found the back of the net in the 56th minute, a strike that decided the outcome of the encounter.
In the support game Alpha United faced Riddim Squad in a ding dong battle of skill, fitness as well as tactical and technical display. Players from both teams thrilled the fans with another exciting display of football.
Alpha, who showed their supreme dominance in local football, forced their technical and tactical ability to the Riddim Squad line-up, but were held to a goalless first half by their lesser known opponents.
On the resumption of play, Dwayne Jacobs and Dwight Peters were rewarded for their efforts at the Mocha team goal, finding the back of the net in the 65th and 84th minutes respectively, to hand their team a hard-fought win and a place in the final four.
The semi-finals will be contested at the same venue on Friday, with Alpha taking on Sunburst Camptown from 18:00hrs while in the feature game Beacon and Fruta Conquerors will clash from 20:00hrs.
Over $6M in cash and prizes are at stake in the competition that is being sponsored by Banks DIH, Courtney Benn Construction Services Limited, McNeal Enterprises and the Coalpot Restaurant, with the winners grabbing a whopping G$3M for their efforts.
The second-, third- and fourth-placed finishers will pocket G$1.5M, $750 000 and $250 000 respectively, while the final and third place playoff will be contested at the world renowned Georgetown Cricket Club ground on New Year’s Day.