Four teams win on opening night
By Calvin Roberts
FOUR teams, namely Laing Avenue, Upsetters, Globe Yard and East La Penitence, chalked up victories in the second annual Adoni Productions-organised ‘Keep your five alive’ five aside Futsal football tournament which kicked off at the California Square tarmac. Jamal Hamilton’s 15th minute strike was enough to take Laing Avenue past North Ruimveldt in the night’s opening fixture, while Paul Giles scored the lone goal of the second contest in the 19th minute for Upsetters, who stopped Sophia United.
Having played to a nil-all stalemate at the end of 20 minutes of intense action, Globe Yard defeated Reggae Boyz of East Ruimveldt 6-5 on penalty kicks while the final game saw East La Penitence get past Albouystown ‘B’ 1-0, with Oslyn Robinson scoring for the victors in the 5th minute.
The action continues tomorrow night at the same venue with four matches from 19:00hrs, with North East opposing GT Baller Kings, Alexander Village opposing Costello Housing Scheme, Warlock (Back Circle) facing Leopold Street and Tiger Bay meeting Rasville.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, organiser of the tournament Kevin Adonis said he was pleased with the first night of competition, which saw some intense action amongst the teams, but called on Corporate Guyana to come forward and support the tournament to make it a better success story.
“I grew up in Tiger Bay where we used to play this type of football from 6 in the morning until after 10 or when a team would get tired, at which point the opposition would say you are dead and to prove that was not so, a team would put up a fight, hence the concept to name the tournament ‘Keep your five alive” said Adonis.
He added, “In those days, we played alongside the late Leslie ‘Fatman’ Holligan and Shawn ‘Fatso’ Bishop, two players who went on to represent Guyana, thanks to Gordon ‘Ultimate Warrior’ Braithwaite who had spotted their talent from a young age.
“I know the tournament is still in its embryonic stage, but my aim is to make it an annual event in comparison to the much-anticipated Kashif and Shanghai tournament. But in order for me to do so, Corporate Guyana would have to come on board and assist with sponsorship.”
In outlining his support for this year’s tournament, which is being played in this format following the one-day that was first held two years ago on the St Pius ground and won by Lodge,
Adonis said Banks DIH, HJTV, Colors Boutique, Giftland OfficeMax, Kid’s Closet, Impressions and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport have all contributed.
Meanwhile, Adonis has increased the timings for the remaining fixtures of the tournament by 10, moving it from a 20-minute encounter to half-an-hour, since many players highlighted the short period of time given during the matches.
Following tomorrow night’s matches would be the third and fourth nights of action, at the National Cultural Centre tarmac from 19:00hrs.