The biggest derby in Georgetown Football takes center stage tonight when Western Tigers battles the Guyana Police Force (GPF) in the grand finale of the Petra Organization/Limacol Football Championship at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground.
The showdown at 21:00hrs, which features many subplots, was made possible following respective hard-fought semifinal wins. The early pick of many pundits, the star-studded Western Tigers sealed their place on the grand stage following a 3-2 win over Santos.
Although not as talented, for the lawmen, a berth to a second national tournament final was sealed by a 2-1 result over Linden’s Winners Connection.
Putting tournament statistics aside for the moment, the clash is the fifth meeting of the teams in approximately one year, with familiarity adding an extra spice to proceedings.
The Tigers lead the head-to-head record marginally with two wins, one loss and a draw. The most recent meeting ended 6-5 on sudden death penalty kicks for Western Tigers after regulation and extra time ended 1-1 in their semi-final affair.
However, the officers only victory came in the final compliments of a 2-0 result. In terms of the numbers during their rivalry, the lawmen have outscored the Tigers 5-4.
Switching back to the current assignment, the teams possess near identical statistics. Western Tigers are the leading offensive team with 10 goals from five matches while the GPF has fashioned nine goals during the same period.
Talismanic forward, Devon Millington, leads the scoring chart for the Tigers with three goals, while Andrew Murray Jr., and Joshua Britton have each scored two goals.
Defenders Jumane Somerset and Linden Picketts have netted one goal each, picking up the scoring mantle from the likes of Hubert Pedro, Dwayne McLennon, Randolph Wagner and Darren Benjamin.
For the GPF, Quincy Holder has been the main threat with a joint tournament leading four goals. Assistance has been provided by veteran Dwain Jacobs, who has scored twice and the trio of Dwayne Charles, Junior Gordon and Lerone Charles, owners of one goal each.
On the other hand, the struggles of the respective rearguards have been overlooked due to the attacking quality of both teams, with five goals each conceded to date setting the stage for a high scoring fixture.
Meanwhile, Santos led by the quartet of Job Caesar, Keith Caines, Okeene Fraser and Dominique Bobb will lock horns with Winners Connection and their trident of Rene Gibbons, Rawle Gittens and Sedrick Hunte at 19:00hrs in the traditional third place playoff.
Winner of the event will pocket $500,000 and a trophy while the second, third and fourth placed teams will receive $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding accolade.
Banks DIH Limited under the GT Beer Brand, Trophy Stall and Star Party Rentals are the other companies that have thrown their support behind the championship.
