National rivals will take centre stage when Alpha United battles Slingerz FC in the grand finale of the 25th Kashif and Shanghai Football championship today at the National Stadium in Providence.
Sporting an imposing 3-0 record against their impending foe and impressive statistical numbers during the current tournament, the ‘Hammers’ will start the matchup as the favourite to claim their third championship.
Offensively, the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Club Championship destined unit have been in clinical form in the final third, scoring a tourney leading eight goals to date over the course of their three match campaign.
Easy wins over Agricola Red Triangle and Georgetown Football Club (GFC) by a 2-0 and 5-0 margin respectively highlight the easy of which Alpha have progressed in the tourney, with their only challenge coming against Pele in the semi-final which they won 1-0.
Gregory Richardson and Manasseh Primo have been the driving force behind the ‘Hammer’ as they have netted two goals each on the tournament. Defensively, Alpha United have been even more impressive as they have yet to be breached in the campaign, which is easily the best record in the tourney.
The likes of Ronson Williams, Jamaal Smith, Quincy Madramootoo and Chris Camacho have yet to be breached in two matches, further illustrating their dominance within the tournament.
While majority of their tourney was highlighted by hard-fought encounters, the Vergenoegen unit will be confident of reversing their fortune against the ‘Hammers’ following their 4-0 dismantling of Riddim Squad in the semi-final stage.
Unimpressive extra time wins over Victoria Kings and Fruta Conquerors by an identical 2-1 margins didn’t do much to inspire confidence prior to their lopsided semi-final victory.
Whereas Devon Millington leads the scoring chart with three goals, the acquisition of Surinamese attacker Christoff Wensley have been the turning point for the West Demerara giants.
The Suriname national has been the catalyst for their new found offensive fluency, linking well with their other attacking options inclusive of Dexroy Adams, Dwayne Lawrence and Anthony Abrams.
Defensively the Vergenoegen unit have improved after conceding two goals in as many games prior to their semi-final victory. They will now require a similar showing from the backline of Solomon Austin, Joshua Browne, Colin Nelson and Les Charles Critchlow if they are to secure their first win over Alpha.
Prior to the commencement of the finale, the third placed fixture between Pele FC and Riddim Squad will occur at 18:30hrs.
Winner of the event will receive the championship trophy and $2,000,000 while the runners-up will collect $1,000,000 and the respective title. The third and fourth placed teams will receive $500,000 and $250,000 respectively with the corresponding accolade.
Individual prizes will also be awarded for the most valuable player, highest goal scorer and best goalkeeper.
