Dynamo and LA Ballers punched their tickets to the final of the women’s and men’s divisions, respectively, following semi-final wins on Wednesday evening in the ‘One Guyana’ King and Queen Beach Football Championship at the PPP office compound in Mackenzie, Linden.
Dynamo crushed Aroaima 5-1 in the semi-final segment of the women’s division, sealing a date with Speightland for the coveted title.
Jalade Trim, the eventual scorer of a hat-trick, opened the scoring in the ninth minute. This was followed by a Sandra Johnson conversion, as Dynamo doubled their advance. Aroaima reduced the deficit in the 20th minute in the form of Ashanna Williams.
However, any hopes of a come-from-behind result were quickly extinguished as Dynamo recorded three unanswered goals in the space of six minutes. Glengie Lewis made it 3-1, as she found the back of the net in the 22nd minute.
Trim then stole the show, as he sealed her brace two minutes later to push the score to 4-1. She then completed her haul in the 28th minute to seal the result. On the other hand, the LA Ballers downed Platinum Side 5-3. Marcus Tudor broke the deadlock for the eventual victor in the first minute. Tyric McAllister then made his presence felt in the third minute to increase the lead to 2-0.
Platinum Side pulled one back in the form of Kemar McLaren in the 14th minute. However, the LA Ballers quickly responded, as Tudor completed his brace two minutes later to restore their initial two-goal advantage.
Isaiah Adams then got into the scoring act in the 26th minute to pull Platinum Side within striking distance at 3-2. The completion of a brace by McAllister in the 28th minute once again restored the LA Ballers lead to 4-2.
However, a 4-3 score then materialised as Oswald Marks scored in the 29th minute. Nevertheless, the 5-3 outcome was then sealed as Omar Brewley etched his name on the scorer’s sheet one minute later.
Meanwhile, tournament coordinator Stanley Lancaster said, “Sadly, we couldn’t have classified the semifinals as the finals, with four of the best teams getting closer to the one million-dollar first prize in this year’s One Guyana King and Queen of the Sand tournament. With luck, the DC Ballers and LA Ballers were the better teams for the night, and it is anticipated to climax when those giants face up on Saturday in the grand finals.”
He further said, “Again, much thanks to our President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, for giving space to the female segment, where we have seen the females representing themselves despite being neglected for so long, and this being the second ever female beach football championship in Guyana.”
Complete Results
Semi-final (Women)
Dynamo-5 vs Aroaima-1
Dynamo scorers
Jalade Trim-9th, 24th, and 28th
Sandra Johnson-12th
Glengie Lewis-22nd
Aroaima scorer
Ashanna Williams-20th
Semi-final (Men)
LA Ballers-5 vs Platinum Side-3
LA Ballers scorers
Marcus Tudor-1st and 16th
Tyric McAllister-3rd and 28th
Omar Brewley-30th
Platinum Side scorers
Kemar McLaren-14th
Isaiah Adams-26th
Oswald Marks-28th
Fixtures
19:00hrs – Aroaima vs Hururu (Women’s 3rd Place)
20:00hrs – Platinum Side vs YMCA (Men’s 3rd Place)
21:00hrs – Dynamo vs Speightland (Women’s Final)
22:00hrs – DC Ballers vs LA Ballers (Men’s Final)
