ON Sunday December 3, the Guyana Police Force Football Club will be aiming to continue their rise like the phoenix to the top of the second division football heap locally, in the inaugural edition of the Turbo knock-out football tournament at the Ministry of Education ground on Carifesta Avenue.
The Eve Leary-based side have been one of the most dominant teams outside of the Guyana Football Federation Elite League for the past year with an impressive consistency.
Police, after breaking the glass ceiling in the 2016 Major Cup Finals to take their first taste of gold, have been imperious since then, reaching six straight finals to be finally counted as one of the best in Georgetown and in the country.
The side’s only blemish has been their defeat to arch rivals Western Tigers, in the Georgetown Football Association GT Beer Tournament and the Limacol Tournament earlier this year.
Western have been their strongest barrier to the Georgetown supremacy, and it has been a ding-dong battle every time the two teams meet.
THE ‘COACH DWAYNE BOBB’ FACTOR
Coach Bobb, who has been a guiding light to the Police team, clearing one road block after another, led them to their first title against Western Tigers in the Mayor Cup at Tucville ground.
The coach then suffered a setback when Western rebounded to take the GT Beer Final beating the policemen.
However, the coach’s resilience has proved that he’s no one-hit wonder, as the officers have surged ahead to take Corona Beer’s football tournaments after losing in the Limacol tournament.
The Police have not let up in their pursuit to add more hardware to their cabinet, reaching the Turbo Knock-Out Football Final last Friday, before storming Linden on Sunday to reach the Mayor’s Cup Finals after whipping Soesdyke for a chance to defend their Mayor’s Cup title.
TURBO KNOCK-OUT TOURNAMENT
Coach Bobb, speaking ahead of their clash with Camptown in the Turbo Cup finals this coming Sunday, says that dedication has been his mantra since he was catapulted to the helm and he has instilled that in the players.
He further went on to add that ‘the ability of the players to quickly understand and adapt has been instrumental to their achievements and that formula will not change now in the Turbo finals.’
The coach was quick to point out that “while the talent has always been there, in order to nurture it and make that jump from third place to first, he has had to have a heavy hand on players to develop self- discipline so as to have the entire team working in harmony for continued success.’
Coach Bobb added that the captaincy of Dwayne Jacobs cannot be underestimated because his experience and the calmness it brings to the team ensures that they remain settled and execute his plans for victory.
The coach mentioned that because of the inexperience and bouts of indiscipline within the rank, it’s important to have a marshal in the midfield. He controls and manages player’s anxiety on the field to be able to capitalise on opportunities when they arise to win matches.
POLICE X-FACTOR
Police, led by longtime national player Dwayne Jacobs, have just returned from a stint with the Golden Jaguars who played Trinidad and Indonesia in friendly matches. Police have been a force like none other. Jacobs’s command of his troops has been unmatched.
However, it’s been his ability to finish when they needed it most that has been partly responsible for his team’s ascension to the top.
An example of that was the Corona Beer final against the Georgetown Football Club where he scored a triple to dispose of the former Elite League side GFC.
Jacobs and the policemen will be looking to replicate such a performance against Camptown Football Club.
In the ongoing Turbo Knockout Tournament they kicked off their campaign with a bang battering eagles in their opening fixtures 6-nil with Rawle Haynes coming to the fore with a hat-trick.
They then went on take a needle victory over Kuru-Kuru before comfortably defeating Grove Hi-Tech 3-2 to reach the finals.
The Police’s secret weapon has been their custodian Darius Frank, who has only conceded one goal so far in the tournament.
Rawle Haynes, who is the tournament’s leading goalscorer with five, will be another player that Police will rely on on Sunday to provide that ‘wow factor’ to come out victors.
The two teams will battle for a purse of half-a-million dollars and the bragging rights as the first Turbo Cup Knock-Out football champs.
