Pele FC jumped to the top of the standings in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League downing cellar occupants Buxton United 3-1 Tuesday at the Tucville Community Centre ground.
Gregory Richardson, Julian Joseph and Ronel Gordon found the back of the net in the fourth, 42nd and 55th minutes respectively. On target in the loss was Buxton’s Clive Andries in the 24th minute.
The win moved Pele into the first spot with seven points ahead of rivals Fruta Conquerors (also on seven points) via goal difference.
The East Coast of Demerara unit remain at the bottom of the standings without a point.
Having drawn their previous fixture, Pele started out in perfect manner as Richardson scored with only four minutes on the clock, finishing into the lower right corner from the left side of the box after latching onto a cross that was missed by the defender.
The East Coast of Demerara unit then levelled the score 20 minutes later as Andries scored placing his shot into the lower land corner from within the centre of the box after collecting lobbed pass between the two centre halves.
Pele almost retook the lead in the 35th minute but a curling free kick from centre 25 yards out from Richardson sailed narrowly over the crossbar.
The Georgetown unit eventually grabbed the go-ahead goal seven minutes later as Joseph scored, placing his shot from the top of the box into the top left hand corner.
Buxton United probably felt they should have had an opportunity to retake the lead in the 45th minute when Jumaine Somerset seemed to parry the ball with his hand, only for the official to wave away the boisterous protests.
Some 10 minutes into the resumption of the second period, Pele doubled their advantage as Gordon scored, finishing into the lower left hand corner from within the box, after collecting a flat right sided cross from Richardson.
Richardson almost added to his tally in the 68th minute, flashing his effort wide of the lower right corner from within the left side of the box, following a through pass.
Despite leading 3-1, Pele was reduced to 10 men in the 78th minute as Omallo Williams picked up his second bookable offence for kicking away the ball following an offside call. He had picked up his first yellow card minutes earlier for the same offence.
Although having the numerical advantage, Buxton almost conceded their fourth goal in the 82nd minute but Richardson was denied by the goalkeeper within the centre of the box, following a one-on-one situation.
In the feature contest, home side Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) battled to a 2-2 stalemate.
Action in the event will resume tomorrow at the GDF ground with a doubleheader. The opening fixture will pit Pele against Slingerz FC from 18:00hrs while the second fixture at 20:30hrs will witness home side GDF battling Georgetown Football Club (GFC).
Winner of the round will pocket $4,000,000 while the second, third and fourth place teams will collect $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 respectively. Similarly, the point’s leader prior to the knockout stage in the League Genesis round will pocket an additional $1,000,000.
Team GP W L D GF GA GD Pts
Pele 3 2 0 1 7 4 +3 7
Fruta Conquerors 3 2 0 1 5 3 +2 7
Slingerz 3 1 0 2 3 0 +3 5
Alpha United 3 1 0 2 4 2 +2 5
Guyana Defence Force 3 1 1 1 5 5 0 4
Monedderlust 3 1 3 0 4 7 -3 3
GFC 3 0 2 1 1 4 -3 1
Buxton United 3 0 3 0 1 5 -4 0
