Western Tigers hammered a lethargic Thomas United side 5-0 while Pele stormed past University of Guyana (UG) 4-0 in the latest matches of the Banks Premium Beer Cup 16-team knockout football tournament Sunday evening at the Tucville Playfield in La Penitence.
Tigers and Pele, who had been busy over the past two months playing in the Namilco and Kashif and Shanghai tournaments, dominated their opponents and will face each other in the quarter-finals.
Eddie Gomes and
Devon Millington each netted a double while Paul Giles scored the other for the West Ruimveldt side who held a comfortable 2-0 lead at half time.
Gomes opened the scoring for Tigers in the seventh minute when he hit home a shot to the right of an advancing Andrew “Docker” Bright, Thomas United’s goalkeeper.
Western Tigers could have scored at least five goals in the first 30 minutes of play but they squandered the opportunities.
Tigers’ striker Millington, who tormented the Thomas United defence with several dazzling plays, scored the second goal in the 36th minute from a free kick at the top of the box that went out of the reach of Bright.
Bright was guilty of an infringement when he handled the ball outside of the box and received a yellow card for the foul.
Millington scored his second goal one minute into the second half when he received a square pass and slotted the ball into an empty goal after Bright came off his line and was caught stranded
Even the introduction of former national player Orin Agard failed to spark United into action as their defence crumbled against a marauding Tigers’ striking line.
Giles scored in the 54th minute before Gomes returned to score his second goal in the 70th minute.
In the second match UG held off a strong challenge from Pele in the first half after national midfield player Kanata Manning had scored for Pele in the 10th minute of play.
Pele, however, took control in the second half and were rewarded through a double by Travis Grant in the 51st minute and 71st minutes while Devon Edinboro scored in the 65th.
Thomas United and UG now join Northern Rangers and Black Pearl on the elimination list.
Rangers went down to Conquerors 8-0, while Black Pearl suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Santos.
The tournament continues tomorrow evening with two more matches.
Uprising will square off with Flamingo in the first match at 18:00 hours, while 2007 Georgetown League champions Alpha United will do battle with Beacons at 20:00 hours.
The other competing teams in the competition and still to play matches are Guyana Defence Force, Georgetown Football Club, Houston Stars and Sunburst Camptown,
At stake in the competition is a first prize of $250,000with the runners-up team securing $125,000, the third place side will take home $75,000 while fourth place will receive $50,000.
The tournament is sponsored by local beverage giants Banks DIH Ltd. and organized by the Georgetown Football Association (GFA).
(caption)LIKE NINE PINS! One could be forgiven for thinking that the sport was bowling and not football as these players seem to be falling like nine pins in the match between Pele and the University of Guyana. (Clairmonte Marcus photo)
