The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) football club now have ‘ammunition’ enough to brag for the remainder of the year 2020, following their championship victory in the GFF Super 16 Cup in the wee hours of Sunday morning.
A glimpse of the intense action during the final battle
The crowd at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) Ground at Bourda looked similar in size to what had obtained in years gone by, when scores of supporters turned up to witness the final clash in the Guyana Football Federation Super 16 Cup between the GDF FC and Fruta Conquerors FC.
The hyped-up battle between these two teams, who are arguably among the best in Guyana, got off to a promising start, as teams and officials were greeted by Director General in the Ministry of the Presidency Joseph Harmon, Minister of Sport Dr. George Norton and GFF President Wayne Forde.
MVP Benjamin Opara, posing with his Honda 125cc motorcycle
It is safe to say that Fruta Conquerors could have won the matchup by a mile had it not been for their lack of accuracy during the entire 90 minutes. The first segment of play saw the Tucville-based team coming within inches of the goal, but walking away with no fruit for their labour.
For Fruta Conquerors, coming up short looked like déjà vu, after struggling to find the back of the net in the semifinal, in spite of their victory there.
On the other hand, the army men also came close on a few free-kick occasions, but their attempts were scooped up by the capable Akel Clarke. As such, the first half passed quietly, with both teams still hunting their first goal.
Fruta Conquerors’ marksmanship did not improve in the second half, and their players were visibly overcome by frustration. In contrast, GDF literally looked more fixated on their goal; and their breakthrough came in the 59th minute when Delroy Fraser took possession of the ball. Fruta’s goalkeeper Akel Clarke had readied himself to take on Fraser’s shot, but what he was not prepared for was a pass instead. Picking up the pass was Benjamin Opara, who shot the ball high into the corner of the net for the lone goal of the game.
Speaking with this newscast following their victory, GDF’s Benjamin Opara praised his team’s efforts, and noted that they deserved the victory.
“Before the game start we know that it was going to be a tough game. So our coach talked to us, and before the tournament start, we’ve always been working hard; going places working hard. GDF deserves it! We deserve it!” Opara declared.
The forward went on to share a little of GDF’s strategy going into the final, highlighting that composure was key.
“We know that Fruta, they have a nice game, we know that they are going to be tough, and we were prepared for it. Our coach coached most of their players, so he already told us about them, and told us any opportunity we have, we should make sure we score. With that, we made sure we are very, very composed about the game,” he went on to explain.
The GDF FC celebrate their Super 16 victory
Prior to the final showdown, Santos FC bounced back to their winning ways to take third place ahead of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) FC.
In a comedy of errors, the Police let a 2-0 lead slip away in the dying moments of the game. Trayon Bobb netted first in the 5th, and William Europe scored in the 71st, to seemingly put a win far out of the Santos reach.
However, the tide turned in the 73rd minute when an own goal came off the boots of Police player Trevon Lythcott to push the score to 2-1. Later on, Orin Yarde netted Santos’ second in the 90+1.
In extra time, Yarde repeated the feat in the 114th for Santos’ victory.
GDF’s Enoch Carmichael was adjudged the best goalkeeper, while Benjamin Opara rode away with a Honda 125cc motorcycle compliments of Marics and Company as the tournament’s MVP.
While GDF walked away with a whopping 2-million-dollar cheque, Fruta Conquerors had to settle for a million.
The tournament’s sponsors included MACORP, NAMILCO, Tourism & Hospitality Association of Guyana, EC Vieira Investments, BACIF, Pegasus Hotel, BK International, Bakewell, Marics Honda, Impressions, China Harbour, 94.1 Boom FM, MVP Sports, Xtra Beer, Radar Security Service and Supplies, and SleepIn International Hotel.
