The Linden, Georgetown football rivalry is set to continue on January 1, 2021, when All Stars teams from the two towns clash in the final of the Kashif and Shanghai organised Bounce Back Football Classic.
On the opening night of action on Tuesday at the National Stadium, Providence, Linden All Stars defeated East Coast All Stars 4-2 and Georgetown All Stars prevailed 3-2 against West Coast All Stars.
In the opening game, Linden took the lead and never relinquished it to secure a place in the championship game.
National player Curtez Kellman opened the scoring for Linden with a goal in the 34th minute, before Abumuchi Benjamin doubled the advantage seven minutes later with the first of his two strikes.
With a 2-0 lead at half-time, the Linden lads were in total control, but upon resumption Omari Glasgow reduced the margin with a strike in the 52nd minute for East Coast All Stars.
Linden however, stormed back in brilliant fashion, scoring twice in four minutes to take a 4-1 lead. Jermain Junor scored in the 53rd minute and Benjamin completed his double in the 57th.
Jamar Harrigan pulled one back for East Coast, netting in the 78th.
In the second contest, Georgetown All Stars had to dig deep to stave off a spirited effort from West Coast All Stars.
Nicholas McArthur gave the city side an early lead in the second minute, an advantage they held on to until the 45th minute when Sheldon Holder levelled the scores.
Trayon Bobb, in the 57th minute, put West Coast All Stars in the lead, but 10 minutes later McArthur scored his second goal of the night to bring the teams even.
It took a Daniel Wilson’s 81st minute strike to separate the teams and give Georgetown a berth in the final.
The matches signalled the commencement of competitive action after nine months of inactivity due to COVID-19. The matches were played behind closed doors.
The final, which would also be played behind closed doors from 18:00h, will be streamed live on NCN Channel 11, E-Networks and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s Facebook page.
The tournament is a collaborative effort of the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation, the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and the Guyana Football Federation.
