Amidst the firework illuminated skies and the thunder of firecrackers, Fruta Conquerors Football Club was crowned Georgetown Football Association (GFA) Stag Beer first division league champions, defeating nine men Pele 5-1 on Sunday at the Tucville ground.
Coach Calvin Allen in an invited comment afterwards said” I think it was a well-executed game plan. What we wanted to do was press Pele in the first 45 minutes and take the energy and confidence away from them.
“We also wanted to score the first opportunity that came our way which we did and I think the guys stuck to the game plan for most part and I’m quite happy with the performance of the team as a whole. The coaching staff, the management and everybody played their part in achieving the success we were longing for,” he added.
Dwayne Lawrence led the assault for the winners with a double on either side of half time in the 45th+2 and 52nd minutes. He was ably supported by Eon Alleyne, Jermaine Junior and Kareem Knights in the 24th, 30th and 82nd minutes correspondingly.
Netting his side’s only goal in the 26th minute was Okeene Fraser while Keoma Gravesande and Shemroy Arthur were sent off on either side of half time in the 42nd and 60th minutes respectively.
With the win, Fruta Conquerors finished the league on 37 points to clinch their first senior title in three years. They also earn the opportunity to compete in the GFF National League play-off tourney to gain entry into the aforementioned event.
Pele, on the other hand, were left on 34 points which earned them the silver medal. With both sides locked on identical points prior to kickoff, the Tucville based outfit only required a draw to seal the title owing to their superior goal difference of +53 to Pele’s +32.
However, they would set out to exact revenge for the 4-0 loss in their first round meeting and would get off to the perfect start as Alleyne netted. Receiving the ball within the left side of the box, Alleyne would rifle his effort into the lower right hand corner to send the large viewership into a frenzy.
Not to be one to go down without a fight, Pele would level proceedings two minutes later as Fraser etched his name on the scorer’s sheet with a lobbed shot into the right hand side of the net, after skipping past his markers within the left side of the box.
The festive atmosphere and explosions quickly resumed as the home side retook the lead compliments of a Junior effort to the lower left hand corner, after the ball evaded multiple players and rolled fortuitously into his path unchallenged within the right side of the box
Needing a win to secure the title, Pele would suffer a further setback as Gravesande picked up his second bookable offence and was sent off for tripping Knights just outside the left side of the area.
Fruta Conquerors would then quickly capitalize on their numerical advantage as Lawrence made it 3-1, finishing his right footed strike down the centre of the goal, following a one-on-one situation with the custodian after collecting a Kevin Barrow left sided pass.
Knights would then make his presence felt once more as he was brought down within the left side of the 18 yard box to earn the home side a penalty kick seven minutes into the second stanza.
Tasked with taking the resulting spot-kick, Lawrence would seal his double with a right footed finish to the lower right hand corner.
It would then go from bad to worse for the visitors eight minutes onward as Arthur picked up his second yellow card for showing dissent towards the official, following a lengthy spell on the ground after being on the receiving end of a rough challenge.
The championship would then be sealed in the final minutes as Knights found the back of the net, directing his header into the lower left hand corner, after collecting a right sided cross within the centre of the box.
In the battle for the third place position, the Guyana Police Force arrested Sunburst Camptown by a 2-1 score line to finish the league with the bronze medal. Requiring a win to take the third spot, Rawle Haynes led the lawmen with a double in the sixth and 24th minutes.
On target for the losers was Azuma Small in the 18th minute. Due to victory, the officers finished the league in the third position with 24 points, relegating the Campbellville side to the fourth spot with 23 points.
Team Games Pts GD
Fruta Conquerors 14 37 +57
Pele FC 14 34 +28
Guyana Police Force 14 24 -17
Sunburst Camptown 14 23 +4
Georgetown Football Club 14 17 -7
Northern Rangers FC 14 13 -7
Flamingo FC 14 11 -6
Beacons FC 14 4 -47
