Elite League mid-season finale: Slingerz FC go 9 for 9 to command league

Slingerz Football Club have all but cemented their spot at the top of the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Elite League, winning their ninth consecutive game on Saturday evening in a thrilling encounter with rivals and defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) FC to bring an exciting end to the first half of season seven.

An exhilarating double-header was lined up on Saturday night at the GFF National Training Centre (NTC) at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), where the second and third-ranked teams Guyana Police Force and Western Tigers FC were also scheduled to clash.
In that encounter, Western Tigers and Police played to a 1-all draw. After an evenly-matched encounter for the first half, Stephon Roynolds found the back of the net in the 45th minute to hand the West Ruimveldt-based outfit the lead, heading into the break.

However, Police returned in the second segment with renewed vigour, hinting at the equaliser and in a best-case scenario, the game winner. However, they had to settle for the former as prolific scorer Neron Barrow was only able to get past Western’s defences once, in the 79th minute, to level the scoreline.
The blockbuster clash followed with tensions high from minute one.
The Slingerz camp erupted in cheers almost 25 minutes into the game when Kemar “Bushy” Beckfore slipped one into the left corner of the goal, past GDF’s Jermain Cumberbatch. However, their spirits were crushed to find the flag raised for an offside call on the line.
The disallowed goal did not deter Beckford however, and he returned in the 35th minute, heading the ball into the back of the net for what eventually became the game winner.

GDF had their fair share of chances, one especially being foiled by a misguided call from the refereeing team, but there was not much the defending champions could do, conceding the 1-0 loss.
Following the victory, Slingerz FC Captain Jeremy Garrett reflected on his team’s performance on Saturday night, highlighting where they could have been better.
“Last night’s game was a very good test for us. I think we played a good brand of football however, the main aim of last night was three points which the team would’ve accomplished, but I felt as though last night’s game had a lot of ego involved where players and even fans were highly anticipating the match. So, I felt like because of that high ego in the game, I don’t think our team managed to play our best football. I think we had very good moments, but still it’s not to the standard of Slingerz FC,” the defender told Guyana Times Sport.
Garrett went on to share, “I also felt as though in football, you have several encounters or matches like these where things might not seem to be going your way or your tactics might not seem to be going right, but what is most important, and what Slingerz did last night was hold our own, stay disciplined and believe that the three points was ours. I think that’s what really separated us from GDF, we were determined to win at whatever cost. I’m proud of my team, happy with the victory and happy with where we are at this stage of the league.”
The second half of this year’s Elite League is expected to resume in July.