Tourney host, Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) was crowned as the inaugural GT Beer Intra-Association Football Champion, dismantling West Demerara 3-0 on Wednesday at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground, Linden.
Anthony Stephens, coach of the UDFA side, during a post-match comment said, “I am glad for the victory due to the fact that it is a team of young players, with the oldest being about 28 and the others being below 24. Many persons complained that the team lacked experience.”
According to Stephens, “The youngsters trained hard for the competition and you could have seen the evidence of their training during the matches and their determination to win.”
The home side, in front of a large crowd, displayed clinical finishing on either side of the halftime interval, to secure the title and the $1,000,000 first prize.
Jermaine Samuels sparked the early celebrations for the partisan crowd, uncorking a left foot volley into the back of the net, after his team-mate kept the ball in play following a corner-kick.
The lead was maintained heading into the halftime interval. Following the resumption, the Linden unit doubled their lead in the 61st minute, as Randy ‘Timmo’ Small scored.
Awarded a free-kick 30 yards from goal in the centre of the field, Small unleashed a powerful right foot shot, which rose over the wall and dipped into the bottom right corner of the net.
The result was put to bed in the 81st minute, as eventual Most Valuable Player awardee Kellon Primo scored.
The wily Primo, following a one-two pass combination with Denzil Fordyce, blasted his effort into the back of the net, from inside the 18 yard box.
West Demerara pocketed $600,000 and the runners-up trophy. Meanwhile, Essequibo/Pomeroon secured the third place trophy, defeating Georgetown via a walkover.
