Grove/ Diamond, West Ruimveldt/Albouystown early winners in Region 4
- One Guyana President's Cup
Grove/ Diamond, West Ruimveldt/Albouystown, and Vergenoegen/Parika /Leguan were the latest winners when the One Guyana President’s Cup Football tournament continued on Wednesday in Regions Three and Four.
The knock-out format tournament that kicked off Sunday is the brainchild of President Irfaan Ali and is being done by the Government of Guyana, the Guyana Football Federation, and the Kashif & Shanghai Organisation.
According to a release, the Region 4 leg getting off to a scintillating start at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground.
A doubleheader was on the cards that saw Grove/Samatta Point/Diamond and West Ruimveldt/Albouystown proving themselves worthy of advancing to the next round of the inter-war fraction following respective victories.
Grove/Samatta Point/Diamond, comprising players from the mentioned East Bank Demerara (EBD) communities, snatched victory from the jaws of defeat after they found themselves trailing 1-0 from the ninth to 72nd minute of their match against South/North Sophia, which took the early lead after Tevin Browne expertly chipped the goalkeeper.
Although the East Bank outfit looked more composed in the second segment, their advances were often thwarted.
Eventually, Devon Padmore found the equalizer for Grove/ Samatta Point/ Diamond in the 72nd minute.
In a bid to avoid the game decided on kicks from the penalty mark, both sides upped the ante, but it was the more experienced East Bank team that prevailed under pressure.
It was the 76th minute of the encounter when Sophia by way of a foul in the box, gave their opponents a penalty kick opportunity. Lloyd Matthews made no mistake, pushing the score to 2-1 in Grove/ Samatta Point/ Diamond’s favour.
The small but vibrant crowd that littered the GFC ground stuck around for the second fixture, which turned out to be a one-goal thriller.
As West Ruimveldt/Albouystown faced off with Golden Grove/ Melanie; there were near misses galore as both sides struggled to finish.
The East Coast of Demerara (ECD) based unit did well to hold off West Ruimveldt’s continuous advances in the first half.
However, similarly to the first game of the night, the experience came to the fore in the second half, where West Ruimveldt’s Colin Nelson broke the ice in the 56th minute with a well-taken free-kick that deflected off a defender, sending a diving Sean Adonis in goal in the wrong direction.
Further pursuits of a goal proved futile for both sides, as the Georgetown team took the narrow 1-0 victory.
The Region 4 leg of the One-Guyana President’s Cup inter–ward tournament continues on Sunday, November 20, with a doubleheader at the Guyana Football Federation’s National Training Center (NTC), Providence.
The first match at 12.30hrs will see Highway challenging Alberttown/ Bourda, while at 15:00hrs, Top Zone comes up against South Ruimveldt/ Tucville.
Meanwhile, over in Region 3, at the National Track and Field Centre, the combination of Vergenoegen/Parika /Leguan made light work of Bell West 3 – 0 in a one-sided affair.
The winners had their goals from Roy Singh, who netted a double in the first half (2’, 44’); Yohance Stuart slotted home his first of the competition in the 78th minute to seal the win.
Region 3 will see more action on Friday, November 18 with Uitvlugt facing Bagotville in the first match at 18:00hrs, and Pouderoyen will tackle Wales from 20:00hrs.
