“Respect will be shown, not given,” says Fruta coach Wayne St Jules

…GFC, Fruta U-20 share expectations for Turbo final

By Jemima Holmes

Two of Georgetown’s most dominant football clubs, each having a brilliant track record and long history in the game, will clash for the Turbo Knockout Football competition title on Sunday, January 26.
And while to some it may look like ‘just another final’, a win will be priceless to either team.

Following a riveting semifinal round, Georgetown Football Club and Fruta Conquerors Under 20 bagged contrasting wins in order to set up what is expected to be one of the most anticipated football finals the game’s fraternity has seen in recent years.
When the lights go on at the Ministry of Education Ground on Sunday, these two teams, which each holds a strong youth component, will battle for a grand prize of $400,000.
More importantly, the right to say, “We are the best team in Georgetown”, is at stake in this encounter; thus with just a few days to go before this massive clash, the finalists are hard at work perfecting their prior mistakes, and will not relent in their pursuit until they consider themselves truly invincible.
The Georgetown Football Club (GFC) have recently been boosted by stars like Deon Alfred, but according to Captain Ronnell McLean, who spoke exclusively with Guyana Times Sport, the strength of their team lies in its youths.

“For the longest while, we’ve been trying to accumulate a lot of players with strength, and we’ve had a lot of youths with our team. We have about three to four players who are senior, but besides that, it’s bare youths pushing the team,” McLean stated.
As captain and goalkeeper, McLean disclosed that the memory of the GFC’s last encounter with Fruta Conquerors is still fresh in the team members’ minds, and the Bourda team will not be taking their opponents lightly.
“For me, it’s discipline. We just have to hold on to everything that we’ve been taught, and go through this tournament just how we started: powerful, strong, focused on everything we have to do; not underestimating Fruta Conquerors, and not forgetting what Fruta Conquerors did to us,” the GFC captain explained.
The energetic Fruta Conquerors’ Under 20 team seemingly have the edge in this encounter, having a Limacol 2019 title win under their belt. Based on this fact, Fruta Conquerors’ Under 20 Head Coach Wayne St. Jules declared himself confident about the team’s abilities going into this final.
“I’m very confident that we have the players who could carry us through and win this tournament, but we’re not saying that we’re just turning up there to play; we (are) going there to win!” St. Jules affirmed.
Referring to the last time the two teams met, St. Jules revealed that the players in this Tucville-based team are not going to underestimate their rivals.
In fact, St. Jules had an interesting comment to make about respect: “We’ve beaten GFC before, but, as I told the players, that was in the past; now, we’re not underrating GFC. (In) the semifinal that I saw them play, they looked really good in attack. We’re going out there to play attacking football. We’ll show them respect, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to give them respect!”
In this encounter, one thing is for sure: spectators who show up to witness the Turbo final on Sunday will be treated to a veritable goal-fest, as both teams have expressed their intention to tidy up their shot-making.
“Well, we’ve had a lot of chances at the goal, and we’ve missed a lot. So, for me, it’s just finishing; finishing every opportunity that we have! With youth and experience, I don’t think anything can beat that,” McLean declared.
“We’re planned this week to do some finishing and some defensive work, because we’re not looking too good in this tournament defensively. In the Limacol tournament, we were exceptional in defense and attack, but somehow, we fell off in this one, (although), because of some of the players we have, who are very good individually, we rallied through,” St. Jules disclosed.
While the final between GFC and Fruta Under 20 will be contested at 21:00hrs, football fanatics can catch the third-place playoff between Pouderoyen FC and Northern Rangers at 18:30hrs at the Ministry of Education Ground.
The Turbo Knockout Football tournament is sponsored by the Guyana Beverages Inc.