By Troy Peters
Football fans that missed the semi-finals of this year’s Kashif and Shanghai football tournament can expect a treat in tomorrow’s final between Georgetown gladiators Sunburst Camptown and Pele Football Club in a showdown that is much anticipated.
Over the years the two clubs have made an enviable mark on football in Georgetown and will fancy their chances with so much at stake including the biggest one-off pay day in the sport locally and bragging rights of being crowned Kashif and Shanghai champions.
Both teams possess the talent and will be displaying some of Guyanese finest footballers.
With the kind of form that Alpha “the Hammer” United had displayed prior to entering this year’s Kashif and Shanghai football tournament pundits were predicting a repeat of last year’s performance until they were pulverized 3-1 by Pele in the quarter-finals. The Pele side then put on a commanding display against the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in Sunday’s semi-final 3-0 look unstoppable in the final.
For those who followed football over the years, the performance of this unit of players is reminiscent of the Pele side of yesteryear that featured some of the finest ball-weavers this country has ever produced including Terry Nicholas, Gordon “Ultimate Warrior” Braithwaite, Terrence Archer, Herbert Pellew, Denzil “Hunky Brains” Thompson (current coach), Leron Bailey, Clive Perry, Keith Niles, and the late Ashton Taylor just to name a few.
This young bunch has displayed great prowess and the hunger to win a major tournament.
The formidable line-up includes the lethal strike force of “Mr. goal” Gregory “Jackie Chan” Richardson, Gerald Wittington, Travis “Zorro” Grant, with captain Dirk Archer, son of former national captain Terrence Archer, marshalling the midfield.
National captain Charles “Lilly” Pollard is in charge of the defence while the goalkeeping is the capable hands of Shemroy Arthur.
Two-time Kashif and Shanghai champions Camptown, the only team not to have conceded goals so far in this tournament has had a fairly impressive run this year but stumbled at critical moments.
This time, the Campbellville-based team will be looking to go the extra mile and lift the crown especially after they fell to Pele in the Banks Premium Beer final earlier this year.
Their 2-0 success against the much-fancied five-time (K&S) champions and the Linden community pride and joy, Bakewell Topp XX, could be termed a morale booster in spite of the mining town team’s lacklustre performance in Sunday’s other semi-final encounter.
They should be more than confident following the success against tough-opponents Topp XX and nemesis Fruta Conquerors.
Camptown also have the players who can deliver the goods in the likes of the goal-hungry national striker Nigel “Powers” Codrington, who played for Pele in last year’s competition with support from Lance Rawlston and dependable national midfielder Troy “Bugsy” Prescod.
Both Georgetown-based teams have proven in the past that they can produce a superb brand of football and with the title of Kashif and Shanghai champions to battle for, not to mention the one million dollars prize money for the winning team, the stakes are extremely high.
Camptown’s 2-0 humbling of previous five-time champions Bakewell Topp XX of Linden was no fluke while Pele took the wind out of a physically fit Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in a display of English Premier League standard.
Some football pundits have argued that Topp XX do not perform to their full potential when they play outside of Linden,
Despite heavy rainfall throughout this Christmas season, the Guyana National Stadium at Providence has stood up as one of the better draining grounds in the Caribbean.
With the departure of last year’s winner’s Alpha “The Hammer” United, and previous winners Bakewell Topp XX, the stage is now set for an intriguing final, while the third place playoff is also expected to be a scorcher.
