Mahaica to battle Mainstay for coveted Elite League spot

Football enthusiasts are in for a spicy clash this Saturday, January 18, 2025, even as the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Elite League Qualification tournament would be reaching its boiling point with an exhilarating final.
East Demerara Football Association’s (EDFA) Mahaica Determinators Football Club and Essequibo Coast/Pomeroon Football Association’s (ECPFA) Mainstay Goldstar FC are scheduled to do battle for a coveted spot in the 7th season of the Elite League.

This comes on the heels of two close semifinal encounters on Wednesday evening, which resulted in the duo overcoming their respective opponents.
At the GFF’s National Training Center (NTC) at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), Mahaica Determinators got the better of Georgetown Football Association’s (GFA) Pele FC 2-1.
Mahaica’s Travon Adams stunned the opponents with a strike in the very first minute of the game, and the East Coast outfit managed to hold on to that lead for much of the encounter, although things got interesting when Pele’s Akon De Santos equalised in the 61st minute.
Nevertheless, Mahaica held their nerve, and produced a game-winning goal 8 minutes later to become the eventual finalists. That strike came off the boots of Julius Hamilton in the 69th, and it punched his team’s ticket to the final.
Then, over at the Bartica Community Center Ground in Region 7, Mainstay Goldstar pulled off a major upset over the virtual home-team Bartica Football Association’s (BFA) Potaro Strikers.
Randy De Jonge, the marksman on show, beat the keeper in the 27th minute to give Mainstay the lead. The scores remained untroubled for the remainder of the encounter, resulting in the win for the Region 2 outfit.
The winner of Saturday’s final would secure an automatic spot in the Elite League Season 7. That spot has been vacated by Buxton United FC, who finished at the bottom of the points table after Season 6 last year, thus resulting in their relegation.
The loser of that game would still have a lifeline, having to take on Ann’s Grove United FC next week in a challenge for a spot in the League. Ann’s Grove United finished 9th on the points table, and will consequently have to play to retain their spot in the League. That game is scheduled for Wednesday, January 22.
The venue for the Elite League Qualifiers final had yet to be announced by the GFF up to press time.