Region Four come from behind to take inaugural title
Tournament favourites, Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four), came from trailing Region Three for one hour to eventually lift the One Guyana President’s Cup trophy on Sunday evening following an exhilarating 90 minutes of football at the National Track & Field Centre, Leonora.

Eventually, tournament MVP and captain, Leo Lovell, fired Region Three ahead in the 13th minute of the final and his side seemed to cruising to victory well into the second half before his opposite, Daniel Wilson, skipper of Region Four, levelled the score one hour later in the 73rd minute with a expertly taken free-kick from about 20 yards out.

Kelsey Benjamin, the tournament’s leading goal-scorer (tied with Ambuchi Benjamin of Region Five), scored his tenth and most important goal of the competition after neatly slotting home from close range a flicked-on pass from Nicholas McArthur in the 75th minute, completing the miraculous comeback for Region Four.

Region Four won all their matches played in the tournament and secured the $2 million top prize and the BACIF-made President’s Cup trophy, while Region Three walked away with the $1 million cash prize for finishing second.

Lovell scored six goals and was a central figure in Region Three making it to the championship game and for his exploits, he received a house-lot along with the MVP trophy.

In the third place playoff, Region Five defeated Region Seven 6-3 after the teams were locked 2-2 at half-time.

Abumchi Benjamin continued his goal-scoring form, netting a hat-trick in the seventh, 30th and 66th minutes, with a solitary strike each from Delroy Fraser (53rd), Marc Galloway (58th) and Olvis Mitchell (88th).

For Region Seven, Andrew Simmons scored a double (11th and 36th) and Whitney Welcome netted in the 90+2.

The nationwide competition, the brainchild of President Irfaan Ali, was a partnership effort of the Guyana Football Federation, the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and corporate Guyana.