THANKS to their diminutive striker Devon Millington who rocked Grove Hi-Tech’s net on five occasions, 2009/2010 Kashif and Shanghai champions BK International Western Tigers inflicted a 7-0 drubbing on their opponents last Friday night at the Georgetown Football Club ground, to book a place in the final eight of this year’s tournament.

Also sealing a place in that aspect of the tournament which is in its 23rd year, were two-time champions and national club champions Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United, who were forced to overcome strong opposition from Rosignol United of Berbice, before they came away with a 3-1 win, thanks to Dwight Peters’ hat-trick.
Even though they came out victorious in their first encounter of this year’s competition, the West Ruimveldt-based BK International Western Tigers should have scored their first goal in the 13th minute of the first half, but watched as Gavin Wilson missed the uprights, even with Grove custodian advancing.
That was shortly after he got a gem of a pass from Shawn Beveney, who repeated the feat shortly after, only to see Wilson miss the opportunity once again, while at the other end, Tigers custodian Deryck Carter pulled out all stops to thwart the efforts of Grove Hi-Tech.
With his team struggling to adjust to the murky conditions underfoot while their midfield was in a disarray, Tigers skipper Phillip Rowley moved to the left flank position, a move that paid off as he found Millington at the top of the box in the space of two minutes, for which the striker said thanks by hitting home his first two goals.
Buoyed by his double strike and operating like a true tiger on the hunt, Millington staged several attacks on the East Bank Demerara-based Grove Hi-Tech lineup, forcing their defensive line to work overtime to thwart his efforts, along with that of Beveney, a resurgent-looking Wilson and Warren Gilkes, which they did successfully, to head into the break with a 2-0 deficit.
On the resumption of play, Millington sent a shot high after receiving a pass from Wilson, but redeemed himself later by working his way into Grove’s penalty area, where he was brought down, earned a penalty kick and converted same in the 50th minute to give his team a 3-0 cushion.
With hunger displayed in their eyes, the Tigers emulated their first-half performance, by attacking Grove’s goal area at will – another move that paid dividends – as Millington added two more goals to his tally in the 86th and 89th minutes, which, along with Beveney’s 79th minute goal and Paul Giles’ 80th minute strike, guided their team to a date with Buxton United on Boxing Day.
The feature game on the night’s card was just as entertaining as the first, as a powerful Alpha lineup that included Peters, Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams, Grenada’s Kithson Bain, Golden Jaguars skipper Christopher Nurse, Kayode McKinnon and Richie Richards took the pitch to face their Berbice-based opponents.
But while they were not as strong as the country’s number one club on paper, Rosignol United made their presence felt on the field of play, proving to be worthy  opponents, with their custodian Keith Fraser thwarting several runs and goal-scoring shots from Alpha’s powerful lineup.
Rosignol took the first 15 minutes of the first half to assert themselves to the style of play of their opponents, while adjusting to the conditions underfoot and having accomplished such, matched the country’s number one team stride for stride, only to see their strike line fumble the numerous opportunities that were up for the taking.
In fact, good work from both custodians ensured their sides took the lemon-time whistle with a clean sheet, as Fraser denied Nurse, Peters and even Bain, while at the other end of the field, Richards was equal to the task of preventing Kelvin Joseph, Tyson Carmichael, Olvis Mitchell and Clifford Campbell.
When play got under way in the second half, Bain made a spirited move deep inside Rosignol United’s third, but found Travis Henry, who had a wonderful night in the right back position for his team, an equal customer as he was brought down with a wonderful tackle which brought oohs and aahs from the crowd on hand.
Alpha placed their name on the scorer’s sheet for the first time in the contest, when Peters placed a penalty kick that was awarded by referee Roland Persaud, following an infringement on McKinnon in the 50th minute.
He made it 2-0 eight minutes after, when he rounded his marker and placed the ball past an advancing Fraser, before Delbert Wilson reduced the deficit to one for his side in the 68th minute, scoring from a well placed and wonderfully taken free kick that was taken from just outside the 18-yard box.
It was a goal that brought wind back into Rosignol United’s sails, while they got a second one when their custodian thwarted the efforts of Bain, not once but twice, after the Grenadian national had sent two powerful shots to the uprights, with both having goals written all over them.
Fraser parried the first shot for a corner, while Peters latched onto the rebound from Bain’s second shot to score Alpha’s third goal in the 77th minute, with Manasseh Primo failing to find an open net minutes before the final whistle sounded, that would have handed them a 4-1 victory and a date with BV/Triumph United on Tuesday.
Action in the tournament continues tonight from 18:30hrs at the Uitvlugt ground, where Milerock take on Den Amstel in the first encounter and Silver Shattas face the home team in the feature matchup from 20:30hrs.