… Alpha United in opening clash with Agricola
ACTION in the 25th Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament continues tonight at the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) ground with another double-header, starting at 18:30hrs.
Game one will see Guyana’s top club Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United come up against Agricola Red Triangle while tournament debutants Bakewell Slingerz FC face off against Victoria Kings.
With participation at the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) being their priority, Alpha United will be using the Kashif and Shanghai tournament as part of preparation plans but head coach Wayne Dover made it clear that despite the side looking beyond the competition, losing is not an option.
Equipped with some of Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s best players, Alpha United are expected to secure a victory tonight, but as they say in football, ‘the ball is round and anything can happen’.
Agricola, competing in the East Bank Football Association (EBFA) had finished second behind Grove Hi-Tech in the league and can be an element of surprise for coach Wayne Dover and his troop.
Meanwhile, the night’s second game should be one of the biggest of the tournament so far.
Built as a rival to Alpha United, Bakewell Slingerz FC; the star-studded squad from the ‘West Side’ have held their own against some of the country’s big clubs since being formed two years ago.
The club can easily boast of being more than just a ‘big money’ team, having won all but two tournaments (NAMILCO and Goal for Gold) since formation.
An unbeaten track record within the West Demerara Football Association (WDFA) and the recent signing with one of the country’s top corporate entity Nasir and Nasir Group under their Bakewell brand now puts pressure on the Joseph ‘Bill’ Wilson-coached team to come up with a victory.
Both Kings and Bakewell Slingerz are the top sides in their respective associations but the Vergenoegen-based club hold an advantage over their East Coast counterparts.
Vurlon Mills, Clive Nobrega, King Solomon Austin, Colin Nelson, Dwayne Jacobs, Joshua Brown and Les Charles Critchlow are all current members of the Golden Jaguars while the club’s two leading goalscorers Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams and Devon Millington were also prominent players on the National side.
With more depth, more talent and more experience on their side, Bakewell Slingerz should come out on top but the experience and ‘never-say-die’ will of Winston Pompey and, Aubrey Gibson should push the Victoria Kings unit to limits never before reached.
Pompey, now a veteran, has over the years been the Victoria club’s best player and taking the ‘player-coach’ position in the team it will be interesting to see how well he operates in the dual role.
Calvin De Souza, Alden Lawrence, Sherwin Skeete, Inceford Charles, Ruben Morris, Rondel Assanah and Kirk Warren are some of the other players in the Victoria Kings line-up.
A win for either club will see them play Fruta Conquerors on Friday, while the winner between Alpha United and Agricola Red Triangle will meet GFC at the same venue.
