Football won

“Bounce Back Football Classic”

Says Jemima Holmes

When the pitch is cleared and the floodlights are shut off, then come the criticisms. The “what should’ve been done”, the “what shouldn’t have been done”, the “they could’ve done this better”; that’s the way it goes.

But when you are starved of a particular thing for months on end, just witnessing it, from no matter how far away, is welcomed with open arms. The same can be said for local football, which saw its first string of games last week since the coronavirus pandemic reared its ugly head in Guyana in March 2020.
And needless to say, despite which team you were rooting for, one thing can be agreed upon: football won.
This can be established for a number of reasons, the first and most obvious being the fact this was a return to competitive football. Not only was it a return, but quite an entertaining one, seeing the construction of dream teams and, of course, the Kashif and Shanghai Organisation making its highly- anticipated comeback.

Back in action
The senior men’s national team have quite a packed international schedule ahead of them for the year 2021, with the CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifications and possibly the tournament itself and the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers preliminary stage, there is lots for the country’s ballers to do.

It is no secret that the Head Coach Marcio Maximo and Guyana Football Federation (GFF) President Wayne Forde have stressed on the need for more local players in the international squad. But, how do you implement this, when your local players have been sitting at home for close to 10 months.
Yes, they have been training privately and getting some scrimmage in, but does it really compare to the real on-field action? I think not.
So, the GFF, K&S and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport’s (MCY&S) “Bounce Back to Football Classic” has not only provided the opportunity for players to get their gears going, but to also see who is in best shape to head into the international set-up. This is a win.

Young and Local
The next concern that has been raised time after time whenever a national team is announced is the inclusion of youth players, in hopes of grooming them for the big stage.
What we saw on Tuesday and Friday last may not have been top-tier local football, it was no Slingerz vs Alpha United, but it put a lot of youngsters on show and they did not disappoint.
For the winners Georgetown All Stars, Nicholas Mc Arthur, Kelsey Benjamin, Dorwin George, Job Caesar, Stephan Reynolds, Daniel Wilson and Ryan Hackette showed out and while all of them didn’t find the back of the net on this occasion, it proved that we can build an admirable frontline and middle with just the local boys.
Now, think of the inclusion of Omari Glasgow, Curtez Kellman, Jamar Harrigan, mixed with the experience of Pernell Schultz, Trayon Bobb, Sheldon Holder, Jermain Junor and Abumuchi Benjamin, it would be a local player activist’s dream come true.
The likes of Jeremy Garrett, Rafael Edwards and Rishaun Rich were impeccable on defence, but to add Colin Nelson, Marcus Wilson, and Rondel Hutson would complete any team.
In the goal-keeping department, Sese Norville gets high praise along with Alex Murray. While it would have been nice to see Joel Yhap tested on the senior stage, the youngster is assured more opportunities.
These are the names that deserve a gold star based on their performances in the tournament. Yes, this group might not pack the prowess to go up against some of our Caribbean counterparts, but they certainly have the potential to excel on the international stage with proper grooming. To see these players perform in this way is most certainly a win.

Big-time production
In recent years, we haven’t been able to witness local football on our televisions, unless it is an international game. So, to know that this tournament’s final was aired live on TV, complete with commentary and playback, it was a marvel to behold.
Others from more developed countries would look at this and scoff, “Only now?” Nonetheless, this broadcast and the game itself were something that the organisers were very pleased with.
“Recognising that this pandemic is a challenge, it forced us to think laterally. It forced us to innovate. When we started to examine our options, it was important that when we have the product of broadcasting, it must be a high standard.
“The people who are looking on the Internet, all across the world actually, they are able to see that Guyana is producing something of a very high standard. That is something that all Guyanese should feel proud about,” Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Charles Ramson Jr said.
“So, to me, it’s not just the fact that we’ve been able to bring football back to the pitch, it’s that we’ve been able to prove to ourselves that we’re able to do it under very challenging circumstances and do it well,” GFF President Wayne Forde commented.
To see our local players on our screens is a win.

That was a foul, ref!
Long after the 90 minutes had elapsed, many persons were still abuzz about a discrepancy they noticed in the second half of the final between Georgetown and Linden. On the edge of the pitch, a linesman swiftly raised his flag in objection when a player tumbled. However, whether it was a personal decision at the moment or just a genuine mistake, the flag was not heeded by the referee and the game continued, with Kelsey Benjamin scoring the lone goal in that very minute.
Debates of this nature are well …natural. And when you’re on the other side of the victory, it is normal to question the judgement, but here’s an observation.
Kelsey Benjamin was off his mark in the first game against West Side All Stars, he missed clear shots and fumbled passes, but his quick thinking in that moment when everyone else was distracted showed the beauty of his ability to think on his feet. Not to mention the lengths he had to go to outwit Colin Nelson, who is much bigger in age and stature, to score that goal.
The point is, the argument about who should’ve won and who didn’t no longer matters when our players do well.
In this light, GFF President Forde, though he had his qualms, was quite pleased with the quality of play that was witnessed.
“I think everyone was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the game. Clearly, for someone that has a deeper understanding of the game, the pace was a bit slow, you could see the technical ability of the guys was a bit off.
“When you consider most of these players have been inactive in a very structured way for the better part of 10 months, and to come out and give this kind of performance, we have to be pleased. I’ve been sitting with the national technical team and they feel they have something good to start with,” Forde shared.
The same goes for Sport Minister Ramson Jr. He stated, “In relation to the quality of the football, it was impressive. Impressive especially when you consider the circumstances. The circumstances have been severe, because anyone knows when you play sports, if you don’t get that constant practice, you start losing your touch.
“These guys have come out here and shown that they are at a good level to progress quickly. At least that would be the hope because they have qualifiers in March.”
So, all in all, football fans were treated to a live broadcast, impressive performances, a wealth of young talent, a safe environment to play amid the COVID-19 pandemic and some entertaining games. To some, it may seem trivial. To others, it may seem like someone favoured one team more than the other. But at the end of the day, or in this case, the end of the ramblings, we witnessed a number of small victories that will combine for a greater benefit sometime down the road. Not Georgetown, not East Coast, not West Demerara, not Linden; on January 1, Guyanese football won.