By Kiev Chesney
Last Sunday at the launching of the East Demerara Football Association’s (EDFA) 2008 football season at the Plaisance Community Centre ground, EDFA’s president Aubrey Hutson said that one of the major hindrances to the development of football on the East Coast was the lack of access to playing surfaces by affiliated clubs.
The EDFA president appealed to Region Four Chairman Clement Corlette to assist with the association’s problem of having access to grounds, adding that the few teams who have had such access in their community have been excelling in recent tournaments.
Hutson said that the EDFA is currently on a recovery course and is striving to re-establish the reputation that teams on the East Coast had years ago for producing some of the country’s best players.
He reminisced on the glorious times when East Coast teams dominated all of the top competitions such as the Kashif and Shanghai tournament, Mayor’s Cup and others.
Hutson also said that his association is at present in a progressive stage trying to build on the success of teams in recent tournaments.
“We are now trying to move from one stage to another, and what we are doing presently is trying to build on the recent success that some of the teams on the East Coast have had, such as Plaisance who recently won the Coca Cola under-15 competition,” he said.
Corlette pledged his support to the organization and complimented the EDFA on its recent progress, adding that the sport has many useful purposes on the East Coast.
“Football plays an integral part in the development of the youths on the East Coast, it helps them to harvest their creative talents as well as develop leadership qualities. The other reason why I think football on the East Coast is so important is because it brings hope to many of the communities that are marked by criminal activities,” he said.
Following the formal part of the proceedings, Buxton United and the under-14 teams of Beterverwagting /Triumph United and Buxton United got straight into battle and squared all corners in a nil-nil draw.
After the first match, the Plaisance FC U-16 team annihilated Ann’s Grove FC 9-0 in an offensive explosion on their home ground where six different players scored.
Devon Gibson led in the goal scoring with a hat-trick of goals in the 2nd, 24th, and 59th minutes respectively.
Oswald Bollers was next when he completed a double, finding the net in the 56th and 78th minutes, while Prince Gilkes, Leron Charles and Keno Barton scored one goal each, coming in the 85th, 10th and 89th minutes respectively.
