Silver Shattas overcame Georgetown Football Club (GFC) 2-1 to earn a quarterfinal berth when the annual Hamilton Green Cup football tournament continued on Saturday at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground in Linden.
And Silver Shattas coach Mark ‘Animal’ Richards was enthusiastic over the victory.
“We have not played after a long time since April, but I am pleased with the performance. We should have won by more goals because we had many opportunities but we are shaking off our rust,” he said adding that although several of his key players were not available for the clash, the fringe players stepped up and proved their worth in what was a tough match.
The contest got off to the worst possible start for the Linden unit as Alberto Basarta opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Basarta pounced on a defensive effort, before racing into the penalty box and finishing past the custodian.
The visitors eventually maintained their advantage heading into the halftime interval. However, upon the resumption, Silver Shattas equalised through Damion Williams in the 54thminute.
Williams unleashed a right foot volley which bounced into the back of the net, after latching onto a cross from the right side of the field.
The come-from-behind win was then sealed three minutes later with Robin Williams making his presence felt as he bundled his effort into the back of the net despite suffering a tackle from the advancing goalkeeper.
In another fixture, Winners Connection clipped fellow Linden unit Eagles FC 2-1 in a reduced 70 minute affair to clinch their spot in the final eight.
Qualon Andries and Marmarlaque Davidson found the back of the net in the 68th and 72ndminute respectively. For the grounded Eagles, Kendolph Lewis scored in the 47th minute.
The quarterfinal round will commence on October 15th at the Victoria Community ground.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) will oppose Silver Shattas at 18:00hrs, while in the feature clash, Ann’s Grove will battle Soesdyke from 20:00hrs.
Action will then move to the Den Amstel Community ground for the final two quarterfinal matches on October 18th. Uitvlugt will oppose Milerock at 18:00hrs with home side Den Amstel battling Winners Connection in the main attraction at 20:00hrs.
Winner of the tournament will receive $500,000 and the Minister of Citizenship Trophy. On the other hand, the runners-up will pocket $250,000 and the Busta Trophy.
The third place finisher will collect $150,000 and the John Fernandes accolade and the fourth place finisher will walk away with $100,000 and the Cummings Electrical Trophy.
