A berth in the 2024 edition of the Elite League will be decided this evening as West Demerara powerhouse Slingerz FC battles Monedderlust of Berbice in the playoff final at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue, at 19:00hrs.
Slingerz FC stormed into the final, following a comfortable 3-0 win over Winners Connection of Linden in the earlier semi-final section. The Vergenoegen-based club sports an undefeated record following victories over Dominators of Essequibo and Winners Connection in the group stage.
From a statistical standpoint, Slingerz have yet to concede a goal in the campaign, following three clean sheets. On the offensive side, Slingerz have tallied 10 goals during their campaign at a rate of 3.33 goals per match.
Head coach of Slingerz, Charles ‘Lily’ Pollard, said, “This is something we were aiming for; this was our plan from the beginning. We couldn’t have gotten into the Elite League from the start; we had to go through the process, and this is the end of the process. It was gruelling, but the guys are excited because there’s only one game remaining to get us over the line. The mood in the camp is good; the senior players are helping the junior players, and we are ready. The team is ready.”
He further said, “The venue is a bit smaller, so there will be a lot more physical contact because space will be limited, but I believe it will benefit us because we tend to train in smaller spaces. We know it’s a final, and they are coming to represent, and we are coming to represent also.”
Meanwhile, the Berbicians squeaked past Georgetown outfit Beacons 3-2 in their final four encounters to preserve their perfect record. In the earlier group stage segment, Monedderlust recorded wins against Beacons of Bartica and East Coast Demerara unit Buxton Stars.
Statistically, the Berbicians have also recorded 10 goals during the event at an average of 3.33 per encounter. However, it is only at the defensive end that the Monedderlust lag behind their impending foe, as they have conceded three times during the aforementioned window, which equates to one concession per fixture. Efforts to contact a member of the Monedderlust technical and management teams for a comment proved futile.
Prior to the aforesaid final, the Women’s 1st Division League encounter between the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and Guyana Police Force (GPF) will occur at 17:00hrs. The winner of the match will be crowned the league champion. Both teams sport undefeated records, following lopsided wins over the likes of the Fruta Conquerors, Potaro Strikers, Pakuri Jaguars, and Santos.
