The remaining two berths in the semi-final round of the 592 Inter-Village football championships will be decided this evening when Mahaica tackles Friendship and Buxton takes aim at Paradise at the Buxton Community Centre ground.
Tournament coordinator Eon Havercome during a pre-match comment said, “The knockout round has exceeded expectations in terms of atmosphere, drama and outcome. It has made for captivating and entertaining viewing for the respective spectators. We have seen two penalty shootouts already to decide the earlier quarterfinal matches which is a clear indication of the competitive nature of the event. We expect a similar drama filled evening tonight at the Buxton ground, a community which is passionate about football and their team. All systems are in place for a wonderful evening, the quarterfinal has set the trend for the semi-final section and the eventual finale. Once again I would like to thank the fans and more importantly the players for their support and commitment in making the tournament a success.”
The Mahaica and Friendship encounter at 20:00hrs will set the tempo for the evening. The physical Mahaica unit will be led by Azuma Roberts, Eion Abel and Shameer Nazir, who are more than capable of grinding out a result come kick off time. However, Friendship possess the talents of Dillon Wright, Clive Andries and Okenny Fraser in their ranks and will be confident of securing the victory in front of a partisan crowd.
The main attraction will pit home side Buxton against tournament favourite Paradise. Given the quality of players on their roster, and led by individuals such as Quincy Adams and Tyreek Cummings, the Paradise unit will enter the match confident of overcoming the challenge of the home side.
However, Buxton are a formidable unit especially with a partisan crowd acting as the 12th man. The battle hardened unit will be led by the dangerous Eon Costello who is more than capable of dismantling any rearguard on the night.
The eventual champion of the event will pocket $500,000 and the championship trophy. On the other hand, the second, third and fourth place finisher will receive $200,000, $150,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding trophy.
Similarly, individual prizes will also be awarded for the Most Valuable Player [MVP] of the tournament, the MVP of the finale, the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament and the Best Goalkeeper of the final. Some of the major sponsors of the tournament include Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, the NSC, Flavours Boss and the Colin Talbot Construction Services.
