West Demerara giant Pouderoyen FC secured a hard-fought win over newcomer Harriett FC in a nine-goal pre-season thriller, prevailing by a 5-4 score-line at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora yesterday.
Locked 4-4 under scorching heat, a fortuitous Stephon Jupiter conversion in the 76th minute proved to be the decisive strike.
Racing down the right side following a counterattack, Jupiter’s attempted cross, which was poorly struck, inexplicably glided beyond the goalkeeper and into the right hand corner.
Prior to the aforementioned conclusion and witnessed by a small cadre of supporters from both sides, Pouderoyen got off to the worst possible start, as they conceded in the second minute.
A goal-keeping error allowed former player Esan Nelson to make his presence felt, slotting into the empty net, after stealing the ball from the goalkeeper, who failed to control a simple back pass from his defender.
Harriett FC’s lead proved to be short-lived as EJ Mars equalized in the 14th minute with a sublime individual effort. Mars uncorked a stunning right-footed volley from the top of the box which crashed into the top right corner of the net, leaving the goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
Mars impacted the contest once again in the 23rd minute, handing Pouderoyen the 2-1 lead in the process. Racing into the centre of the 18-yard area, the unchallenged midfielder calmly slotted his effort into the back of the net, after receiving a pass from the left side.
However, Harriett FC responded through Lexroy Manfield 11 minutes later to make it 2-2. Another former Pouderoyen FC alumni, Manfield, upon cutting into the left side of the box, following a through pass, slotted past the custodian into the lower right side.
A clumsy challenge inside the 18-yard area, handed Harriett FC a penalty in the 43rd minute. The experienced Marvin Josiah made no mistake from the distance to hand his side the 3-2 advantage, rifling his effort into the lower left corner, beyond the reach of the diving custodian.
The goal scoring spree continued in the second half, with Pouderoyen levelling proceedings at 3-3 compliments of substitute Keanu Lawrence’s effort in the 50th minute. It was a moment of individual brilliance from the attacker, who curled a right footed free-kick from just outside the left of the penalty area, into the top left hand corner.
Lawrence then pushed Pouderoyen ahead at 4-3 in the 57th minute, latching onto a loose ball within the penalty box, before blasting his right foot shot into the roof of the net.
Nevertheless, Harriett restored parity to proceedings at 4-4, as Josiah completed his double in the 68th minute, slotting home into the lower right corner from inside the right of the box, after receiving a left sided pass. Pouderoyen will continue their pre-season schedule of matches with a clash against Den Amstel at the same venue tomorrow.
Game-1
Pouderoyen-5 vs Harriett FC-4
Pouderoyen Scorers
EJ Mars-14th and 23rd
Keanu Lawrence-50th and 57th
Stephon Jupiter-76th
Harriett Scorers
Marvin Josiah-43rd and 68th
Esan Nelson-2nd
Lexroy Manfield-34th
