Cellink Plus Premier League

Jul 25, 2008 Sports

Second round kicks off tonight

By Franklin Wilson
First round leaders Sunburst Camptown, the only unbeaten team so far will be aiming to stretch their lead when the second and decisive round of the Georgetown Football Association/Cellink Plus Premier League (CPPL) kicks off this evening at the Tucville ground.

Based on the closeness of the top four teams, it will be up to the forward line in each team to deliver the knock-out punches in their respective remaining encounters which will decide who lifts the beautiful locally carved Cellink Plus Championship trophy.

Camptown will be without the services of leading striker Telson McKinnon who has migrated to Jamaica. McKinnon along with strike partner Mervin Joseph (4 goals each) were a potent force up front for the Campbellville based team in the first round of the league. The two have scored half of Camptown’s goals.

Their ability this time around to maintain effectiveness upfront will be tested beginning with their clash this evening against Santos who will surely be aiming to turn around their dismal first round show.

Camptown is at the top of the points table with 17 points while Santos is in the penultimate spot on 3. They have failed to register a first round win while conceding 4 defeats as against 3 draws, woeful stats by any stretch of the imagination for a team that has always been one of the toughest in the business.

In the off season lots of work, technically and tactically would have had to be done to turn around their -12 goal difference, scoring a mere 2 while letting in 14. This clash against Camptown will answer lots of questions this evening.

Tonight’s main attraction between 4th placed Fruta Conquerors and the vastly improved Georgetown Football Club (GFC) will be a keenly contested match up as both teams were seen hard at training during the break.

Conquerors too, have not been at their dominant best in the first round, opting for a mixture of youth and seasoned players which will work to their advantage in the future. They are just 1 point ahead of GFC on 11.

GFC on the other hand with a couple of upset wins in the first round including a memorable one against Pele 3-2 compliments of a ripping last minute header by Shad Fernandes, will be looking to build on their first round momentum.

They (GFC) earned Premier League status having finished as the runner up team in the division-one league to Uprising who has failed to register a single win in the first round securing a single draw.
Fans of course will be eagerly awaiting the ensuing mouth watering match-ups in the coming weeks.

Another front running team that have to up their game in a big way are Pele. They have turned in some miserable performances in the opening round and will need to improve or face the possibility of being thrown into the division one ranks.

It is early days yet, but just 7 games away from separating the worthy from the unworthy as regards Premier League Stardom and Division One Status.

Sunday will see another keen double header at the same venue. Bottom of the table Uprising will face the Guyana Defence Force and leading goal scorer Stellon David who has 8.

The night capper will see defending champions Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United, 3rd in the standings on 12 points squaring off against 6th placed Pele (8).

While it seems that its consolidation time for some teams, it surely seems like redemption time for others. An exciting and intense second round is definitely in the making.

The leading goal scorers are GDF’s Stellon David 8, Telson McKinnon & Mervin Joseph (Camptown) and Andrew Murray (Alpha) 4 each. Next with 3 apiece are Troy Prescod (Camptown), Travis Grant (Pele) and Quincy Madramootoo (Alpha).