Tiger Rentals U-13 League Cup…

By Calvin Chapman
THE dust settled on the first-ever Tiger Rentals under-13 League Cup Championship football tournament yesterday at the Guyana Football Federation (GFF)’s National Training Centre (NTC) at Providence, with favourites East Demerara living up to their hype and emerging victorious.

East Coast defeated Bartica in the final, 1-0, due to an own goal, but it was the heroics of the Region 7 goalkeeper, Zico DosSantos, who eventually was named Goalkeeper-of-the-Tournament, that ensured the score remained 1-0.

The Anthony Benfield-coached East Coast side was way more organised in defence, and coordinated in their attack, with most offensive plays coming through the wings.

East Coast followed up their win in the National League with this success in the League Cup to erase any doubts about their superiority. In fact, East Coast won every match played in the two tournaments, with the exception of a lone draw during the National League.

During an invited comment with the Guyana Chronicle following yesterday’s win, Head Coach of East Coast, Anthony Benfield said, “I am very proud of my team; they did themselves and the coaching staff proud. They followed the gameplan and got the success; I am excited to see these players’ development in the years to come. They are the future of Guyana’s football.”

Tyrel Walcott, who was awarded Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament, was pivotal to East Demerara’s triumph in the League Cup, while his teammate was recognised as one of four exciting prospects. West Demerara’s David Dacosta, Adrian Samuels of the Berbice Football Association, and Jonathon Rodriques of Essequibo were the other three players identified.

Rupununi won the third-place playoff against Georgetown, 3-1, with Joao Hamlet spearheading the victory with a hattrick, while Travis Grogan scored the consolation for Georgetown. Hamlet’s hattrick took him to 10 goals in the League Cup tournament, which was enough to see him cart off the highest goal-scorer trophy.

The standings for the League Cup, from fifth to 10th, are as follows: Upper Demerara, East Bank, West Berbice, East Berbice, Essequibo and West Demerara.