Brush Dam and Buxton secured to hard-fought victories Sunday at the Buxton Community Centre ground in the inaugural ‘592 Beer Inter-Village Football Festival’.
Brush Dam squeaked past Ann’s Grove 2-1. Stephen Dolphin and Allister Thomas scored in the 65th and 90th minute respectively. For the losers, Kevin Williams netted in the 55th minute.
Similarly, Buxton needled Mahaica 1-0. Neil Hudson found the back of the net in the 86th minute. Following a cagey first half which failed to produce a goal, Ann’s Grove seized the lead through Williams.
It was an unlikely conversion aided by a goalkeeping error, as a corner kick from the right side of the field, evaded everyone and settled into the left hand corner.
The lead proved to be short lived as Brush Dam restored parity to proceedings in the form of Dolphin 10 minutes onward. It was a clinical strike from Dolphin who upon receiving a lobbed pass inside the right of the penalty area, rifled his effort into the bottom left corner.
The awarding of a penalty for a clumsy challenge by the goalkeeper in the 79th minute, presented Ann’s Grove with ideal opportunity to take the lead. However the chance was spurned as a tame effort was denied by the Brush Dam custodian low to his right.
Ann’s Grove was then made to pay for their aforesaid failure as Thomas secured the go-ahead winner in the dying moments, racing onto a through inside the right of the box and finishing past the advancing goalkeeper down the center of the net.
Meanwhile a brilliant individual effort from Hudson sealed the result for the home side. The match which lacked noteworthy moments, was decided by the highlight of the evening and possibly the tournament.
Spotting the goalkeeper standing in the center of the box, Hudson uncorked a powerful effort from 35 yards out in the center of the field, which sailed over the head of the back peddling custodian and settled into the back of the net.
The event which resumes at the Golden Grove ground, 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 Brush Dam, Melanie and Ann’s Grove.
Group-D comprises Annandale, Golden Grove and Beterverwagting [BV]. The winner of each group alongside the second place finisher will advance to the quarterfinal round. The grand finale is pegged for January 1st.
The eventual champion of the event will pocket $300,000 and the championship trophy. On the other hand, the second, third and fourth place finisher will receive $150,000, $100,000 and $75,000 respectively and the corresponding trophy.
Similarly, individual prizes will also be awarded for the Most Valuable Player [MVP] and the Best Goalkeeper. Some of the major sponsors of the tournament include Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, and the Colin Talbot Construction Services.
Complete Results
Game-1
Brush Dam-2 vs Ann’s Grove-1
Brush Dam Scorers
Stephen Dolphin-65th
Allister Thomas-90th
Ann’s Grove Scorer
Kevin Williams-55th
Game-2
Buxton-1 vs Mahaica-0
Neil Hudson-86th
