NAMILCO Football Festival kicks off tonight

Oct 24, 2008 Sports

Defending champs GDF face Bakewell Buxton Stars, Pele tackle

New Amsterdam

Bert Sukhai

Dwight Peters

By Franklin Wilson
The battle lines will be drawn this evening when the 2nd annual Namilco Football festival featuring the top 16 clubs in Guyana face off at the Tucville ground with the aim of copping the top prize of $400,000.

Defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will set the tone for the rest of the festival when they open against East Demerara’s Bakewell Buxton Stars from 18:00hrs with the main event bringing together Berbice’ New Amsterdam United and the City’s Pele.

Pele, who once carried the title of the knock-out kings in Guyana are hoping to inch back to those days but have not been enjoying the best of form in the past 12 months.

They will hope that they can get past the boys from the Ancient County whose counterparts from West Berbice, Monedderlust were responsible for knocking out Pele in another competition.

Not much is known of New Amsterdam so its makes it even more necessary for Pele to be at their best since any slipping up can cost them dearly.

They will be banking on the services of the experienced Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant in midfield with Captain Dirk Archer and Solomon Austin working in tandem at the back along with Shemroy Arthur between the uprights.

The GDF/Bakewell Buxton clash does not provide the pundits with enough info to make an informed prediction but the defending champions will go into the match with the advantage especially following their recent improved performances in the Cellink Premier League in the City.

Head coach Marlon Washington says though, he is not taking anything for granted coming against the Buxton team which is coached by the only female football coach in Guyana, Sheron Abrams.

Travis Grant

Washington says they are focusing on retaining the championship and is well aware that they will have to be at their best to do so. “We are a very confident team at the moment and this is evident in our last couple of performances in the Cellink League which will be bringing over to this competition.

We are not underestimating the opposition and are preparing for a tough match since it will help us to get ready for a possible quarter final derby against Alpha United.”

GDF’s victory bid will be led by defenders Devon Harris and Sheik Kamal with midfield plays being engineered by Kevin Lewis and former Bakewell Topp XX player Marlon Washington. Up front the charge will be led by Dwight Peters, Gavin Wilson and Stellon David.

Coach Abrams said her charges are well prepared for this evening’s challenge despite the fact that they will be playing back to back having taken on BV Triumph United in the Mackeson first division league being run by the East Demerara Football Association.

“We are aiming to upset GDF tonight and regarding our training, I think that we have been putting quite a good amount of work since the league started on the East Coast.”

Buxton’s quest for victory will depend on the collective performance of the team led by strikers Ruben Morris and Neville Gulliver, Midfielder Pierre Joseph, defender Keon Adams and under-17 custodian Brian Robinson.

Managing Director of Namilco Bert Sukhai is expected to be on hand to deliver feature opening remarks and to officially kick off the Festival.

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