—GDF and Inter Moengotapoe battle to draw
By Kizan Brumell
The opening day of the third annual Inter Guiana Club Football Championship Cup wrapped up with Alpha United on top after recording a comfortable victory over French Guiana’s Geldar FC at the Georgetown Cricket Club (GCe) Ground, Bourda yesterday.
Alpha United whipped the opposition 3 – 1 on the slippery terrain while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) team played to a 2 – 2 draw with Suriname’s Inter Moengotapoe in the opening match of the tournament.
Tomorrow, the defending champions Inter Moengotapoe will go head-to-head with Geldar in the opening showdown at 2pm then the local teams, GDF and Alpha United, meet at 4pm.
Yesterday, Alpha United and Geldar matched skills in the opening minutes but a goalmouth scrimmage that ended in Geldar’s favour, compliments of Souvenian Charlot, put the local champs on the back foot.
However, the equalizer came from the boot of Shawn Bishop who released a marvelous shot minutes later on the left flank 15 yards outside the box and watched the ball sail past the opposition’s custodian.
Alpha gained the lead when Dwain Jacobs corrected a shot that his teammate put off target by easily thumping it into the back of the net as the Geldar `keeper was beaten and down on the ground.
At no point did Geldar ease in their defensive pressure applied on the Alpha team nor did Alpha lose a step in their resolute defending. Both teams had numerous other opportunities to score in the remainder of the first half but could not because of shots that were wide of the goal or because the shooters’ lost their footing due to the slippery playfield caused by rain.
The second half took much of the first half pattern but, as time continued the playfield worsened and it became even worse for Geldar who were playing with urgency in search of an equalizer.
Before the final 45 minutes expired Alpha’s Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams made it a 3 -1 score line when Dwight Peters broke away from the defence and provided Abrams with a terrific pass which he easily got past the `keeper.
Earlier, GDF and Inter Moengotapoe, trying to get their touches composed on the heavy GCC playfield, eventually grooved into having some good runs near goal.
The GDF team drew first blood as early as the 11th minute after they out-numbered the opposition inside their 18yard box.
Following two attempted shots that were denied, Marlon Benjamin found the back of the net.
Two minutes later Peter Parks released a firm shot just on top of the 18-yard box and saw the ball scamper past the `keeper to put GDF up by two.
Not long after Inter Moengotapoe had a good opportunity to pull one back but was denied by the upright after beating the GDF custodian to the right.
The second 45 minutes resumed with Inter Moengotapoe still down by two but a rocket-like shot from Vlijter Ives sent the ball storming into the back of the net in the 49th minute.
Eight minutes later GDF was blown for a foul inside the penalty area which opened another scoring opportunity for the Surinamese team. Jimmy Patrick took a rather casual shot to the right which evened the scores.
Neither team was able to score again for the remainder of the second half that a heavy passing shower intruded until the regulation time whistle.