… Grove Hi-Tech, Northern Rangers play to 0-0 stalemate

WESTERN Tigers continued their unbeaten streak in the 2017 Limacol round-robin football tournament by producing a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Uitvlugt when action continued on Wednesday evening at the GFC ground.By virtue of playing undefeated, Western Tigers are the first team through to the next round and will pocket $100 000 for topping Group B.
From the start, Uitvlugt understood the daunting task that lay before them – to dethrone the undefeated and try to secure one of two spots in the next round of the tournament.
And they got the start they wanted. Trayon Bobb’s 15th minute free kick was one from the story books, when his curling left shot zoomed into the top right corner of the goal as the keeper and defenders stood rooted to the spot.
They got a further boost four minutes later when Bobb again, down the right wing, cut inside before delivering an expertly weighed through-ball to Jamaal Harvey that was skilfully converted, putting Uitvlugt on the path to victory.
However, Western Tigers were by no means finished as a set piece two minutes into the injury time of the second half produced their first goal of the game after a deflection off Andrew Murray from a set piece rounded the left side of the goal.
They drew level through Linden Pickett in the 53rd minute with the battle on for the tie-breaker.
The heart-wrenching game finally slid the way of the Tigers four minutes into the second half’s injury time when Jumane Somerset slotted home, much to the cheers of the crowd.
The fight for the second qualification in Group B tips more in favour of the Eagles, who are tied with Uitvlugt on three points and goal differences (0) but have a game in hand.
At least a draw in the Eagles United vs New Amsterdam United fixture, carded for this weekend, will allow Eagles to progress to the next stage but an outright loss could work in favour of Uitvlugt.
In the earlier match, Grove Hi-Tech and Northern Rangers played to a one-goal stalemate with Grove’s Denzel Crawford scoring two minutes into the first half’s injury time and the response from Tefon Daly coming in the (77th).
With that draw, Grove have moved into the second spot in the group below Winners Connection and above Milerock who both have a game in hand.
A win for Milerock with a margin of less than three goals would take both them and Winners Connection through to the next round in a one-two order while a win of more than that offers Grove the chance to sneak through. A draw would allow both Linden teams to progress with Winners atop and Milerock second.
On the converse side, a win for Winners will put Milerock out and let Grove through making Group A an interesting fixture.
However, those two fixtures are not until Sunday but when action returns tonight at the GFC ground, Santos will try to move from the third spot in Group C when they play bottom-team Pouderoyen from 18:30hrs.
A win for Santos by a three-goal margin will ensure them momentary second spot while a draw or loss will seal both leaders Den Amstel’s and current second spot holders Ann’s Grove’s places. Any result for Pouderoyen would not affect the standings of the top two.
In the second fixture of the evening, the Police will play Riddim Squad. A win or draw for Police will take them into the lead of Group ‘A’ while Riddim Squad need to win by more than five goals, if they are to move into the second spot, and more than six if they want to take the lead.
A draw will not affect the standings.