Four top teams battle for honours tonight
Manasseh Primo
The exciting action witnessed in earlier matches in the Guyana Football Association/Cellink Premier League football competition continues tonight, with Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United opposing Conquerors FC in the feature attraction of a double-header that also witnesses Camptown FC against the Georgetown Football Club.
‘The Hammers,’ undoubtedly one of the better local teams, have not been having things their own way of recent and the pundits have attributed this to the impromptu departure of their coach, Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover, for a stint in Trinidad and Tobago.
Another player, Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard, who had provided much inspiration to the ‘Hammers’ during his period as captain/coach, is also playing in the Trinidad professional leagues, further robbing Alpha of optimum strength.
Add the unavailability of their star striker, Andrew Murray, to injury and it is obvious that Alpha would be hard pressed to pull the proverbial ‘rabbit out of the hat.’ However, the situation may not be as dismal as it appears when one considers that the quintessential Elton Browne would be performing ‘striker’s’ duties with support from the likes of Dwight Peters and Quincy Madramootoo. The ‘Hammers may just feel that they have a big chance of carting off the honours.
Elton Browne (left) and Dwight Peters
Conquerors would be banking heavily on their star striker, Manasseh Primo whose performance throughout the tournament has been remarkable. Support is expected from midfielder Lester Peters and defender Neville Stanton. Oswald Cornette is also anticipated to render valuable support between the uprights. With such mouthy watering prospects, football buffs would not want to miss these encounters.
Meanwhile, the Guyana Defence Force continued their winning ways with a 4-nil wipeout over Flamingoes FC, when play continued Friday evening last. Selwyn Isaacs opened the Army’s account in the 34th minute with assistance from Shevane Seaforth, Ceon Brewley and Orrin Agard in the 57th, 78th and 85th minutes respectively.
The other match between Pele and Western Tigers fizzled out to a tame draw after both teams failed to find the back of each other’s net.
The highlight of that match occurred when Pele’s Quincy Hemmerding raided the opposition’s goal somewhere around midway of the second half and almost handed the lead to his team. The vigilance of Western Tiger’s goalie, Ron Liverpool thwarted the effort when he grabbed the ball even as Hemmerding charged in to consummate the play.
In a show of determination, Hemmerding once again launched an attack but was unfortunate to see his power shot land safely into Liverpool’s hand.
Entered his teammate, Travis Grant; he collected a perfect pass inside the box, but his poorly directed shot sailed past the left post. Colin Sheppard next tried to gain the advantage for Pele, but he too blundered with a strike that missed the target by inches. Desperate efforts by both teams failed to break the stalemate until the final whistle sealed the issue.
Kick-off time for tonight’s first match is 18:00hrs.
