The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) outflanked Alpha ‘the Hammer’ United 3-2 when the quarterfinal round of the Georgetown Football Association (GFA)/Banks Beer Cup commenced Christmas Day at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, Bourda.
In a fixture that truly lived up to its billing and with the largest spectatorship to date,
gave the GDF the early lead in the 10th minute with a right-footed strike to the bottom of the net.
Lurking inside the centre of the penalty area, Fraser upon receiving the ball from the right side of the penalty box would turn and strike his attempt to the bottom of the goal, leaving Alpha keeper Richie Richards with no chance.
Alpha would level the score line in the 21st minute as Andrew Murray Jr. found the back of the net with a shot to the lower right hand corner, after latching onto a rebounded strike following a right-sided corner kick.
However, GDF would retake the lead as older sibling Delroy Fraser joined his brother Delwyn on the scorer’s sheet with a 43rd-minute effort to the lower right-hand corner, after evading his marker within the right side of the 18-yard box and beating the advancing Richards.
A great one-two combination just outside the right side of the penalty area between Desford Williams and Delwyn Fraser in the 49th minute, almost led to the former adding to the score line, as his right footed pile-driver flew just over the crossbar.
The see-saw nature of the fixture would continue as Kithson Bain levelled the score line three minutes later with a strike from the left side of the penalty box which took a slight deflection off the leg of a GDF defender and settled into the lower right-hand corner.
A great opportunity for Alpha to take the lead for the first time in the matchup would go a-begging in the 79th minute.
Coming on as a replacement for Anthony Abrams in the second stanza, Sheldon Holder, upon latching onto a lobbed pass which was misjudged by the GDF defender, lashed his hurried volleyed attempt from the left side of the penalty area wide of the left post.
With the seconds ticking away and extra time seeming a formality, the army side would snatch the hard-fought win with the very last kick of the game in the 90th+2 minute through a Eusi ‘Boney Man’ Phillips strike.
Assembling inside the centre of the penalty box to receive a right side corner kick, Phillips would pounce on a rebounded Williams’s strike, before thumping his effort into the bottom of the woodwork to spark wild celebrations on the field.
GDF will now face Santos in the semi-final round following the latter’s defeat of defending champions Sunburst Camptown by a 1-0 score line in their quarterfinal showdown.
Winning coach, Denzil Thompson in an invited comment said “I planned and designed our method to counteract the way they play. I knew once we could cut out the long ball, my players would be able to weave the ball”.
“With all teams they will be mistakes no matter how good you are but it was a splendid performance and a splendid game”, added Thompson.
Losing coach Wayne ‘Wiggy’ Dover in a post-match comment said “The army was good on the night and it’s the first time in a year that a team would have scored two goals against us. They were quicker, fitter, reacted better and were simply the better team on the night”.
