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THE Slingerz Football Club-organised Stag Beer West Side Mashramani knock-out tournament got off to an exciting start on Sunday at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground with the host team and the home side both advancing to the semi-finals. It was the Slingerz Football Club (FC), who were made to work hard for their 1-0 victory over Beavers while for Den Amstel it was as easy as a Sunday afternoon walk on the seawall as they crushed Eagles Football Club 7-2 in an entertaining encounter.
Watched by a packed and vocal crowd a the West Demerara facility, all curious to see the team that many are touting to take over as the top team in the ‘West Side’, Slingerz had a tough welcome into the world’s most popular sport.
The game followed the opening ceremony which saw the tournament’s first kick taken by Digicel’s Marketing Director Jacqueline James.
Slingerz controlled the position and pace of the game, playing a more systematic type of football in their first outing in competitive football but Beavers didn’t let the big names on the field deter them from trying to get around the Kester Jacobs and Ryan Crandon-led defence.
Not many chances were created by Beavers in the first half with Ronson Williams having a trouble-free night in goal as the eventual losers basically collapsed deep defensively, as Dwayne Jacobs led the Slingerz FC attack who missed several chances to go ahead early in the game.
The scores were nil at the end of regulation time but Slingerz fell a man short after their attacking midfielder (former Alpha United) Shavane Seaforth was shown his second yellow card and as a result was given marching orders off the field
However, Slingerz played better in the second stanza and seemed more purposeful in their attack and started with Jacobs’ header from a corner hitting the crossbar.
Slingerz continued their attack on goal but Beavers remained resolute in their defence until the 87th minute when the team captain Jacobs used a few Cristiano Ronaldo-imitated step-over dribble to evade two defenders then unleashed a rocket left-foot shot just outside the 18-yard box to give his side the eventual game winner.
Though the team would move on to play on March 1 in the semi-finals, their win was uninspiring, according to their coach Gordon Braithwaite, who bashed his side’s approach to the game.
Thanks to a hat-trick from Travis Hartman, coupled with a double from Gavin Graham and a goal each from Jeffery Pereira and Colin Wellington, Den Amstel were victorious over Eagles 7-2.
Marvin Frank who scored in the 18th minute and Stephon Griffith (48th minute) were the two goalscores for Eagles.
Meanwhile James, whose company Digicel is one of the major sponsors of the tournament, pledged their continued commitment to the sport of football on the West Demerara and added that they are happy to be part of the event which serves as an important part in the sport’s development.
Her words were echoed by president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Franklin Wilson who himself once served as president of the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA).
Wilson reminisced on the days of the Sweet-16 football which was run during his tenure at the helm on the ‘West Side’ and stated that the event has the potential to supersede all expectations.
He lauded Slingerz FC for organising the tournament to announce their presence in the sport and charged the participating teams to be disciplined and to display a high level of competition.
The tournament will continue this Friday at the Tuschen ground and will see Seawall coming up against Stewartville at 18:00hrs while the second game brings together Uitvlugt and Young Achievers.
Watched by a packed and vocal crowd a the West Demerara facility, all curious to see the team that many are touting to take over as the top team in the ‘West Side’, Slingerz had a tough welcome into the world’s most popular sport.
The game followed the opening ceremony which saw the tournament’s first kick taken by Digicel’s Marketing Director Jacqueline James.
Slingerz controlled the position and pace of the game, playing a more systematic type of football in their first outing in competitive football but Beavers didn’t let the big names on the field deter them from trying to get around the Kester Jacobs and Ryan Crandon-led defence.
Not many chances were created by Beavers in the first half with Ronson Williams having a trouble-free night in goal as the eventual losers basically collapsed deep defensively, as Dwayne Jacobs led the Slingerz FC attack who missed several chances to go ahead early in the game.
The scores were nil at the end of regulation time but Slingerz fell a man short after their attacking midfielder (former Alpha United) Shavane Seaforth was shown his second yellow card and as a result was given marching orders off the field
However, Slingerz played better in the second stanza and seemed more purposeful in their attack and started with Jacobs’ header from a corner hitting the crossbar.
Slingerz continued their attack on goal but Beavers remained resolute in their defence until the 87th minute when the team captain Jacobs used a few Cristiano Ronaldo-imitated step-over dribble to evade two defenders then unleashed a rocket left-foot shot just outside the 18-yard box to give his side the eventual game winner.
Though the team would move on to play on March 1 in the semi-finals, their win was uninspiring, according to their coach Gordon Braithwaite, who bashed his side’s approach to the game.
Thanks to a hat-trick from Travis Hartman, coupled with a double from Gavin Graham and a goal each from Jeffery Pereira and Colin Wellington, Den Amstel were victorious over Eagles 7-2.
Marvin Frank who scored in the 18th minute and Stephon Griffith (48th minute) were the two goalscores for Eagles.
Meanwhile James, whose company Digicel is one of the major sponsors of the tournament, pledged their continued commitment to the sport of football on the West Demerara and added that they are happy to be part of the event which serves as an important part in the sport’s development.
Her words were echoed by president of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Franklin Wilson who himself once served as president of the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA).
Wilson reminisced on the days of the Sweet-16 football which was run during his tenure at the helm on the ‘West Side’ and stated that the event has the potential to supersede all expectations.
He lauded Slingerz FC for organising the tournament to announce their presence in the sport and charged the participating teams to be disciplined and to display a high level of competition.
The tournament will continue this Friday at the Tuschen ground and will see Seawall coming up against Stewartville at 18:00hrs while the second game brings together Uitvlugt and Young Achievers.
