Paradise sent a stern warning to the field, brushing aside tournament favorites Victoria by a 3-1 scoreline on Friday in the ‘592 Beer Inter-Village Football Festival’ at the Golden Grove Community Centre ground.
It was a clinical performance from the Paradise unit, who displayed their championship pedigree in front of a sizable crowd.
The opening goal occurred in the 32nd minute as Trevon Dainty etched his name in the scorer’s sheet. Racing into the penalty area, Dainty slotted his right foot strike past the goalkeeper into the lower left corner.
The aforementioned conversion proved to be the only goal recorded in the first half. Paradise would increase their lead in the 56th minute through a Teshawn Gordon penalty conversion.
Tasked with the responsibility from the distance, Gordon slotted his effort into the left hand corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
The lead ballooned once more in the 65th minute as Teon Stewart got into the scoring act.
Racing onto a pass inside the left of the penalty area, Stewart uncorked a right foot shot, which rolled under the body of the diving custodian and into the lower right corner.
Sherwin Skeete eventually tallied a consolation goal five minutes later, blasting his effort into the left corner from the centre of the penalty area.
Meanwhile, Ann’s Grove edged Melanie 1-0 in the earlier encounter. The lone goal emanated from Kevon Barry in the 55th minute, as he stabbed his effort past the custodian after a cross into the area sparked a goal mouth scramble.
The event resumes today at the same venue. The opening match at 19:00hrs will pit Plaisance against Mahaica while the home side Golden Grove battle Beterverwagting from 21:00hrs in the feature encounter.
The event features 12 teams battling in an initial group format. Group A comprises Buxton, Plaisance and Mahaica, with Group B consisting of Friendship, Paradise and Victoria, and Group C featuring Brusche Dam, Melanie and Ann’s Grove. Group D contains Annandale, Golden Grove and Beterverwagting. The winner of each group will advance to the semi-final round. The grand finale is pegged for December 14th.
Winner of the event will pocket $300,000 and the championship trophy, with the second, third and fourth place finishers collecting $150,000, $100,000 and $75,000 respectively, and the corresponding accolade.
Individual prizes will also be awarded to the Most Valuable Player and the Best Goalkeeper.
Other sponsors of the event include Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, and Colin Talbot Construction Services.
Complete Results
Game 1
Melanie-0 vs Ann’s Grove-1
Kevon Barry – 55th
Game 2
Paradise-3 vs Victoria-1
Paradise scorers
Trevon Dainty – 32nd
Teshawn Gordon – 56th
Teon Stewart – 65th
Victoria scorer
Sherwin Skeete – 70th
