High Stars secured a hard-fought win over Cool Runnings by a 4-3 margin when the inaugural Guyana Beach Soccer Association (GBSA) National Championships began on Wednesday at the Bayroc Beach Facility in Linden.
Lenard Peters recorded a double in the 15th and 34th minutes while Michael Spencer and Michael Austin scored in the 10th and 17th minutes. For the loser, Andel Mendonca, Jermaine Grandison and Hussain Cumberbatch scored in the ninth, 20th and 22nd minutes respectively.
Meanwhile, league leader Royal Youths battled to a 5-5 stalemate with Attention Family. Tyrone Lewis recorded a brace for Attention Family in the 17th and 28th minutes while Jamal Haynes netted a brace in the 14th and 35th minutes.
Scoring in the fifth minute was Elridge Williams. On the other side, Kurt John led Royal Youths with a double in the 19th and 32nd minutes while Denzil Pryce, Marvin Sullivan and Shane Luckie scored in the seventh, 16th and 38th minutes respectively.
Action in the event is slated to continue Sunday at the same venue with three fixtures which will conclude the first round.
In the opening matchup today at 18:30hrs, Silver Bullets will tackle Attention Family while Cool Runnings will oppose Buxton Youth Developers in the second match at 19:15hrs. The final match at 20:15hrs will pit Silver Bullets in their second fixture against Kuru-Kururu Warriors.
The championships will be contested in a two-round format over an 18-day period. Matches will be played at the Bayroc Community Centre Beach Soccer facility and at Kuru Kururu on the Linden Soesdyke Highway.
Winner of the event will receive the championship trophy and $250,000 while the second, third and fourth-place units will collect the respective accolade and $100,000, $75,000 and $50,000 correspondingly.
