THE inaugural Stag Super 16 knock-out football tournament kicked off in fine style at the No. 5 ground West Coast Berbice last Sunday with two teams walking the preverbal plank.

Monedderlust showed excellent composure to erase a deficit and take victory over a game Golden Stars of East Demerara 2-1 while Cougars tore apart East Bank’s Soesdyke Falcons 3-0 to secure their place in the quarterfinals at the Victoria ground on Boxing night.
The East Coast-based unit took the lead when they were awarded a penalty in the 12th minute and Emitt Leacock stepped up the spot and made no mistake in burying the shot past custodian Elvis Rutherford to give Golden Stars a 1-0 lead over Monedderlust.
Golden Stars had quite a few chances to increase the lead but poor decision-making in the attacking third undermined their hold on the game early on. The fast-paced exchanges, end to end, proved that neither side was willing to allow the other any time to settle.
As the minutes ticked away, the pressure began to mount on the home side with the fans becoming restless knowing that an early exit was not something they even wanted to think about.
Their anxiety eased to a great extent in the 71st minute when the neutralising goal was realised through a Travis Henry shot.
With the scores levelled at 1, at the end of regulation, the game went into extra time and Clifford Campbell’s 103rd minute strike turned out to be the game winner, since Golden Stars could not respond and the Berbicians marched into the quarterfinals. They will face the winners of Sunday’s clash between Timehri Panthers and New Amsterdam United on Christmas Day at the Buxton Community ground.
Meanwhile, the opening fixture was deemed a ‘one-sided’ affair with Cougars having their way around Soesdyke Falcons.
Sherwin Parris’ 41st minute strike put the Berbice club in the lead while Albert Anderson rocked the Falcon’s nest as his shot flew past goalkeeper Javier Greene.
Soesdyke tried desperately to pull one back in the final stanza but were denied by the home side. As a matter of fact, the third goal was as a result of a Soesdyke mistake in the 77th minute; Cougars 3 Soesdyke 0
Cougars have now earned themselves a place in the next round (Boxing Day at Victoria ground) against the winners of the match between Mahaica Determinators and Rosignol United who will clash on Sunday at the No. 5 ground.
The tournament continues on Friday at the Grove Community Centre ground with two more matches: Agricola Red Triangle against Ann’s Grove from 18:00hrs and the feature game between Grove Hi Tech and BV Triumph United at 20:00hrs.