Local football club, Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United salvaged some pride but bowed out of the CONCACAF Champions League last night after holding Costa Rica’s Herediano to a 2-2 draw at the Guyana National Stadium.
There was no meek capitulation this time unlike last week when Alpha was trounced 8-0 by the Costa Ricans in the Central American country. Significantly, the Guyanese pushed the Herediano team to claw back to even the score since they were two goals down.
Alpha drew first blood in the 34th minute when captain Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams found the back of the net. The local side finished the first half, one up and needed eight more goals to advance to the Group stage of the competition. It was a goal they were unlikely to meet.
In the second half, the Herediano players continued to look the more compact team despite the one goal deficit. The play was more structured as the Guyanese failed to keep possession for more than two passes at a time.
However, when Alpha had its moments of brilliance they looked just as compact as their opponents even as they played with 10 men from as early as the 44th minute when Kelvin McKenzie was booted out for dangerous play. Then in the 75th minute Travis ‘Zorro’ Grant struck again, sending the small crowd wild.
But this did not deter the Costa Ricans – who were also playing with 10 men after Marvin Angulo was sent off in the 66th minute – from attacking and setting up their plays. In the 78th minute, Carlos Hernandez fired a long range shot that caught the defence and custodian Ronson Williams nodding, to find the back of the net. Six minutes later, Brazilian striker Jorge Barbosa, who scored a hat-trick in the last match, beat Williams at the near post to even the score.
President of Alpha, Odinga Lumumba said afterwards that he was pleased with the performance of the team, adding that the team made Guyana proud. “(The) guys from ESPN were surprised with the performance of the team” although there is no pro league in the country, he said.
