Fruta Conquerors FC and Camptown FC recorded similar 2-0 victories in their respective Round-of-16 matches on the opening night of the Banks Beer Knockout Cup at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) Ground on Sunday.
The victories mean that both sides have moved on to the quarter-final stage of the competition that will be played on Christmas Day.
In the opening encounter between Fruta Conquerors and Police FC goals in each half from Dwayne Lawrence and Pernell Schultz propelled them to a comfortable 2-0 victory over a 10-man police side.
The Conquerors dominated the game from the start, having more possession, but they wasted chances in a game they could have easily won by a larger margin.
Striker (number 11) Marco Marcus missed three glorious chances in the first 10 minutes of the game to put his side 3-nil ahead.
In the fifth minute of play after Lawrence (number 9) struck a strong shot that rebounded off Police keeper Tyrone Adams and Marcus then hit his shot wildly over the bar.
Then in the 9th minute a good “through ball” from mid-field was run onto by Marcus who hit his shot at goal-keeper Adams, who then made a great save.
He completed his hat-trick of misses when in the 11th minute via a corner kick, he somehow missed a straightforward header on goal.
Lawrence finally broke the deadlock when a sharp wing cross fell into his path and he slotted home his shot in the 22nd minute. That was to be the only goal of the half as the Conquerors went into the interval with a 1-0 advantage.
In the second half the Conquerors dominance and lack of clinical skill in front of goal continued, but the pace of the game decreased.
The Police boys didn’t help themselves when a reckless tackle in the mid-field by Deon Alfred saw him shown the red-card, thus reducing them to 10-men in the 61st minute.
Soon after the Conquerors scored what proved to be the winning goal, when Pernell Schultz (number 10) scored in 63rd minute when he capitalized by shooting home after the ball had rebounded off the post.
In Game two extra-time goals from Lance Raulston and Peter Parks propelled Camptown to a 2-0 triumph over Northern Rangers FC.
The game, for long periods, saw both teams caught in a mid-field slug fest for the ball that resulted in few clear goal-scoring chances being produced by either side, ending a dour first-half 0-0.
The second half commenced quite similarly, but the only difference was that Camptown was the more assertive team going forward. But that did not materialize in goals, as the game ended 0-0 at full-time.
Lance Raulston finally scored a goal in the fourth minute of extra time when he chipped the goal-keeper who had come off his line too far. Then in the 108th minute Peter Parks cutting in from the left-wing, eased his shot into the far corner of the net.
Round of 16 action in the competition continues tomorrow with another double header at GFC. Alpha United tackles Charles United at 6pm, before Beacon FC and Flamingo FC kick off at 8pm.
(Caption)Banks DIH and GFA officials at the opening ceremony of the GFA Banks Beer knockout competition which commenced Sunday night at the Georgetown Football Club ground.
(Caption) Some of the participating teams at the opening ceremony.
