Rishawn Saniford and Jahall Greaves both scored for Fruta Conquerors to wipe out an early second half one-goal deficit and lead Fruta Conquerors to a 2-1 triumph over Monedderlust in the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Stag Elite League on Tuesday evening at the GDF ground.
Fruta Conquerors dominated possession early in the game, creating a lot of chances, but failed to find a way past the Monedderlust keeper, who had an exceptional first half, producing a number of saves to keep the score at 0-0 heading into the half.
Monedderlust slowly started working their way into the game after maintaining a good spell of possession early in the second period, which eventually led to Kevin Cottoy finding the back of the net in the 51st minute. With the Conquerors keeper off his line, Cottoy netted a cheeky chip-shot over his head.
Jahall Greaves (left) and Rishawn Sandiford were on target for Fruta Conquerors
As the second half went on Conquerors started to press forward, looking for an equaliser.
The atmosphere of the game would completely change in the 72nd minute when the linesman awarded a controversial goal to Conquerors.
Conquerors players appealed to the linesman that the Monedderlust keeper had caught the ball after it had already crossed the goal line following a shot from Jahall Greaves. The assistant referee, who seemed to have a clear view of the keeper’s position, awarded the goal to make it 1-1.
A Monedderlust side, who appeared to be distraught since the equaliser, started pressing forward seeking a winner, but continued to carelessly give up possession in the final third, leaving gaps in the defense, which Conquerors would capitalise on during their counter attack.
A free-kick was awarded to Conquerors in the 76th minute, after a Monedderlust defender made a clumsy challenge on the Conquerors attacker. Saniford stepped up to take the free-kick, and after lining up his shot, he struck a Beckham-like free-kick over the defensive wall past the Monedderlust keeper to give his side a 2-1 lead with less than quarter of an hour to play.
Fruta Conquerors would close out the second half holding a strong defensive line to protect their advantage and seal a 2-1 comeback victory. The Conquerors are currently second in the table with 28 points and trail Slingers FC by only three points in the closing stages of the league. Monedderlust sit on six points and are seventh in the standings.
In the second game of the double-header, Slingers FC were held to a 1-1 draw against Alpha United. It was the first result other than a win for Slingerz FC in their last 10 games. Despite the draw, they remain on top of the table with 31 points, while Alpha United, on 21 points, remain in third spot.
Goals from the encounter came from Andrew Murray in the 48th for Alpha United and Tishard Joseph for Slingers FC in the 57th.
Acton will continue on Friday at the GDF ground, with another double-header, which will see Alpha United battling GDF at 18:30h, followed by a clash of the top two teams on the table, Slingerz FC and Fruta Conquerors.
