Georgetown to meet Linden in ‘Bounce Back’ Classic final

The Georgetown All Stars survived a scare on Tuesday night to book the second slot in the ‘Bounce Back’ Football Classic jointly promoted by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF), Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) Organisation; and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport.
Challenging the West Side All Stars, this encounter at the National Stadium at Providence was power-packed with a number of young promising players on the rise. The West Demerara goalkeeper was stunned by an early try, as Georgetown’s Nicholas McArthur let his artillery loose early, netting the first goal in the 2nd minute of the game.
Georgetown visibly controlled ball possession, but Trayon Bobb and Sheldon Holder from the other side were a force to be reckoned with. Mc Arthur, along with Kelsey Benjamin and Dorwin George, made many attempts at the goal, but Rondel ‘Beast’ Holder was impeccable on the defensive line, keeping the youngsters at bay.

Georgetown could’ve had their second, and West Demerara their first, goal before the half, but both Ryan Hackett and Trayon Bobb missed respective penalties. Hackett eventually picked up a card owing to his follow-up play after missing the penalty, causing West Demerara to change goalkeepers.
Halftime score said 1-0, but the West siders were unphased by the lead, as they came out with all guns blazing in the second. Sheldon Holder challenged Georgetown’s custodian Alex Murray in the 45th, and made a goal of it.
With the score at 1-1, Trayon Bobb later followed up with the second goal in the 57th, to put West Demerara in cruise control.

The fairly young team representing the capital city were now under immense pressure, but refused to lose their composure. Nicholas Mc Arthur made it a brace-all game in the 67th, netting his second goal of the night.
Just when it seemed as though the non-existent crowd would witness an extra-time affair, and with the final berth hanging in the balance, Daniel Wilson found the back of the net in the nick of time to hand Georgetown a victory.
The final of the ‘Bounce Back’ Classic will be staged on Friday, January 1 at the same venue starting at 6pm. However, with no fans allowed, the game will be livestreamed on NCN, Enetworks and the Ministry’s Facebook page. The teams will be vying for bragging rights along with cash and trophy prizes.
Mohamed’s Enterprises, the Trophy Stall and Ground Structures Engineering Consultants are sponsors. (Jemima Holmes)