Football fans were treated to two blockbuster clashes at the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) National Training Centre (NTC) on Wednesday evening as the country’s top four clubs hunted final berths in the inaugural Elite League Cup.
An anticipated clash between Slingerz Football Club (FC) and Western Tigers FC, with the latter having the upper hand, having bested Slingerz in their last faceoff.
In the initial stages, it seemed as though Western would hold on to their bragging rights as a ball over the top met a sprinting Stephon Reynolds, who needed only to beat the last defender and slip the ball into the right corner of the net for Western’s lead in the 13th.
However, their celebrations were quieted when Kemar Beckford’s shot found the back of the net in the 26th to level the scores. The half eventually expired with the score remaining locked.
In the second segment, Lloyd Matthews eventually made the difference between the two sides capitalising on a scramble in the box to tap home Slingerz’ second goal in the 61st. As Western missed close opportunities to level once again, Beckford cemented Slingerz’ passage to the final with another goal in the 94th minute.
Following the victory, Slingerz head coach Jamaal Shabazz reflected on the game.
“I was confident; I thought in the first half we played with not enough discipline, and we did better in the second half. I always felt that Western would’ve gotten tired, and so said, so done,” Shabazz told this publication exclusively.
He went on to add, “First of all, Western scored in the last minute of a tied game; we don’t see them as a superior opponent, we see them as a bunch of talented players who don’t like to train. I feel the difference between Slingerz and Western is the seriousness in the approach to the game. They gave a good account of themselves today, but an account of a team that does very little in terms of conditioning.”
The second fixture on the night pitted Guyana’s law enforcement teams against each other in a high-adrenaline battle. Though the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) pressed early, it was the Guyana Police Force who eventually got the first strike after a sliding tackle in the box from the GDF’s keeper gifted Police a penalty.
Makayah Jervis made no mistake with the shot, sending it into the right corner for the goal. In the second half, Beveney McGarrell extended Police’s lead with a flat shot from the edge of the 18-yard box that sailed into the right corner.
The Elite League Cup final is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, at the same venue. The third-place playoff between Western Tigers and GDF will kick off at 18:30h, while the grand finale is scheduled for 21:00h, featuring Slingerz and Police FC.
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