GFF/KFC Elite League: Tudor impresses as Slingerz, GDF win on opening night
The Guyana Football Federation (GFF) has finally completed the lighting system at the National Training Center (NTC) at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), and what better way was there to commission them than with two riveting football games which produced contrasting results?
Slingerz FC announced their return in style, while defending champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) narrowly escaped an embarrassing start to their title defence, when the KFC Elite League Season six commenced on Sunday evening.
The first match of this year’s Elite League saw a replay of the Promotional Playoffs’ final, wherein Slingerz FC were finally able to turn the tables on Monedderlust FC. The star on show, Marcus Tudor, opened the scoring in the 9th minute, and made it a 2-0 affair in the 23rd, after which he ensured the scores read 3-0 by the end of the first half with a strike in the 39th minute.
Malcolm Miggins (5) netted GDF’s second goalMarcus Tudor (orange) storming through the Monedderlust defence
Tudor then opened the second segment with another goal in the 48th to complete his helmet-trick. When a penalty opportunity went Slingerz way in the 63rd, Tudor was given the chance to complete his five, and so he did.
Mere minutes after his substitution into the game, Darren Niles played through Monedderlust’s defence and won a 1v1 with their keeper to make it a 6-0 game in the 76th minute.
Ricardo Halley then put the icing on the cake in the 90th+2, netting the 7th and final goal for Slingerz.
Following the game, Tudor spook briefly on the win, sharing, “We’ve been working hard for this, and it’s back to the training ground after this game. It was a good game for us. The coach that came, he is a good coach. We adapt very quickly,” Tudor added about the team’s recent shift in coaching.
The following game was a battle between GDF FC and Santos FC. After deadlocked scores for much of the first half, Ryan Hackett finally broke the ice in the 42nd to give GDF the advantage. Then in the second half, Malcolm Miggins gave the defending champions a 2-0 lead in the 58th.
However, Santos pulled one back in the 78th through a Ryan Dowding strike, and looked threatening enough to level the scores. However, the GDF defence held out to secure the 2-1 win.
The KFC Elite League will continue today: Tuesday, February 27th, with another double header at the same venue. Fruta Conquerors will first battle Ann’s Grove United FC from 19:00hrs, after which Western Tigers and Buxton United will go toe-to-toe from 21:00hrs.