Semifinal action tonight at Leonora

– Region 4 vs Region 5; Region 3 vs Region 7
The final four teams that will play in the semifinals of the inaugural One Guyana President’s Cup football tournament have been decided following Monday night’s final round of preliminary matches at the National Track and Field Facility (NTFC), Leonora.

Both semifinal matches will kick off tonight at the NTFC with Region Four matching skills with Region Five in the first game that is scheduled to begin at 18:00hrs while the feature match will see Region Three and Region Seven looking to book their place in the final, from 20:30hrs.

It was all to play for in the final night of group round-robin matches on Monday with Group B wide open as Region Three, Five, and 10 can qualify.
Region Five, a core built with members of the Guyana Defence Force, defeated Region Two 6-1, led by a hat-trick from Abumchi Benjamin and supporting goals from Delroy Fraser and Marc Galloway.

Later in the evening, it was heartbreak for the ENet-sponsored Region 10, as they drew with Region Three 2-2 in a must-win match for them.

Region 10 held the advantage with Shane Luckie (49th) and Jashawn Moore (54th) placing them comfortably ahead but as has been the case so often in the tournament, they succumbed to pressure and gave away the lead. Roundel Hutson (73rd) and Kobi Alexander (81st) snatched the three points from Region 10 via the draw, and Region Three still managed to top the group on goal difference.

For each win in the group stage, teams will pocket $200,000. If the game ends in a draw, the teams will share the spoils. In the semi-finals, a win is worth $400,000. The championship winning team will walk away with $2M while second place gets $1M.

The One Guyana President’s Cup is a collaboration between the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Football Federation and the Kashif & Shanghai Organisation.