`The Hammer’ ready for any job—Dover

—-Santos faces Houston Stars in opener

ALPHA `The Hammer’ United are ready for any job says team Head Coach Wayne `Wiggy’ Dover, leading up to their opening fixture against Grove Hi-Tech in the Georgetown Football Association (GFA)/Banks Beer 32-team knockout tournament tonight at the Georgetown Football Club ground.
In a telephone interview with Chronicle Sport, Dover who is also the head Coach of Guyana’s Golden Jaguars, said his charges would not be taking Grove Hi-Tech lightly.
“Our approach to tonight’s game would not be different than our approach to any of the games we have played so far in the GFF/Banks Beer Premier League. We are going out there to win and we would not be taking Grove Hi-Tech lightly,” Dover stated.
When the two teams last met (GFF/Banks Beer Premier League) Alpha United came out victorious by a 6-1 margin.
Asked if the 6-1 victory would be a morale booster for the team, Dover responded in the affirmative, but was quick to add, “We would not be taking them lightly tomorrow night (tonight), since they are entitled to three guest players, so we don’t know if they might be bringing three players from Trinidad to boost their lineup. So we are taking them seriously tomorrow night (tonight).”
He said despite defeating Grove Hi-Tech 6-1 in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/Banks Beer Premier League, the margin of the victory is not important, “since if you win 1-0, it’s just like if you win 10-0.”
According to Dover, he has warned his players to guard against becoming complacent as he pointed out that every game is a very different game.
Alpha United’s lineup includes a number of national players, the likes of team captain Dwight Peters, Gregory `Jackie Chan’ Richardson, Anthony `Awo’ Abrams, Manesseah Primo, Andrew Murray, and custodian Richard Reynolds.
At the moment, Alpha United have completed seven rounds in the GFF/Banks Beer Premier League, winning all seven encounters and have so far scored 21 goals while conceding just three for a goal difference of plus 18 and 21 points, heading the points standing.
Grove Hi-tech on the other hand have played seven matches. They won two, lost four and drew the other.
They have so far scored 10 goals and conceded 16 for a goal difference of minus six with 10 points which place them 10th in the League.
When the tournament got underway on Saturday last, defending champions, Sunburst Camptown, trashed Essequibo 10-0, while Pele edged Topp XX 1-0 in the feature game.
The GFA/Banks Beer Knockout tournament will continue on Saturday at the Den Amstel ground, West Coast Demerara, with Milerock taking on Beacon from 18:00 hrs and Den Amstel coming up against Silver Shattas from 20:00 hrs.
The winning team will receive $4M, while the second placed team will earn $2.5M.
The third and fourth placed teams will receive $1.5M and $1M respectively, while the eight teams to reach the quarter finals will each be rewarded with $250,000.

(By Michael DaSilva)