By Treiston Joseph
Debutants Parika Salem Secondary got a rude awakening of the competitive nature of the Digicel Schools Football Tournament, suffering a 6-1 defeat at the hands of Essequibo Islands Secondary when the tournament opened on Monday afternoon at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.
While it was not the most technically sound game for both sides, Essequibo Islands was clearly the stronger side, the players using their size to overpower the smaller Parika team. Reon Venture scored the opener in the 13th minute for Essequibo Islands, who have now played in all seven editions of the Digicel tournament.
Parika equalised in the 40th minute with a goal from Jamal Baker, but it would go all downhill from there as Dicquan Clarke scored in the 44th minute to give Essequibo a 2-1 lead heading into the halftime break. Clark would continue his scoring prowess with two more goals in the 48th and 61st minutes to score the first hat-trick of the 2017 edition of the tournament, while Venture completed a double in the 52nd minute.
David Charitar scored the final goal of the match in the 64th minute to send Parika packing, as the tournament is a straight knockout format. Action will continue on Tuesday (June 13) with another match at the Leonora facility between Leonora Technical Institute and Professional Learning Institute from 15:30h.
On June 14, Mahaicony Secondary will battle Belladrum Secondary at the Belladrum ground in West Berbice from 15:30h, while Vreed-en-Hoop and Patentia will square off at L’Aventure ground on the same day from 15:30h.
Over at Burnham Park in New Amsterdam, Berbice, Berbice High School will collide with Berbice Educational Institute at 15:30h. Games will also continue throughout the week at various venues across the country.
