592 Inter-Village Football…
Beterverwagting [BV] and Golden Grove have each secured semi-final berths when the inaugural 592 Beer Inter-Village Football Championship continued on Sunday evening at the Golden Grove Community Centre ground, ECD.
When BV defeated Ann’s Grove and hosts Golden Grove downed Brusch Dam, both matches ended scoreless at the end of regulation time. However, both matches were eventually won by penalty shootout victories.
BV prevailed 3-1 over Ann’s Grove in a tense penalty shootout. Kicking first, BV got off to the perfect start; and the first round ended 1-0 in their favour following a miss from Ann’s Grove.
BV maintained their lead at 2-1, as both teams converted in the second round. However, BV missed to start the third round, gifting Ann’s Grove the perfect opportunity to equalise.
Ann’s Grove, however, spurned the opportunity by firing wide of the mark, much to the disappointment of their fans.
BV secured a 3-1 advantage to start the fourth round, as they converted. Needing to score to keep their hopes alive, Ann’s Grove were eliminated when the goalkeeper denied their fourth effort.
Similarly, Golden Grove defeated Brusch Dam 3-0 from the penalty mark. This clash was almost decided in the 89th minute, when Golden Grove were awarded a penalty kick for a wild challenge on Dwain Jacobs. The penalty kick was however wasted, being blasted over the crossbar.
Starting the penalty shootout, Brusch Dam missed from wide of the right corner. Golden Grove capitalized to take the 1-0 lead, as they scored. Brusch Dam’s misfortune continued, as they fired over the crossbar in the second attempt, but again the hosts capitalized, to make it 2-0.
Brusch Dam’s failure continued when they again blasted the ball over the crossbar to start the third round. The match was then sealed, as Golden Grove scored again.
In brief comments, tournament coordinator Eon Havercome said: “The knockout round has clearly lived up to its billing, and has provided entertaining football. Both matches required penalty kicks to decide the outcome, which indicates the competitiveness of the tournament. The fans were treated to the drama of the penalty shootouts, which is always a sight to see; and I anticipate much more drama and excitement as we progress to Christmas Day for the second round of quarterfinals in Buxton.”
The first match on the card will pit Mahaica against Friendship from 20:00hrs. In the second fixture, hosts Buxton tackle Paradise from 22:00hrs.
The winner of the competition will receive $500,000 and the championship trophy; while the second, third and fourth place finishers would respectively receive $200,000, $150,000 and $100,000, together with the corresponding trophy.
Individual prizes would also be awarded for the Most Valuable Player [MVP] of the tournament, the MVP of the finale, the Best Goalkeeper of the tournament, and the Best Goalkeeper of the final.
Among the sponsors of the tournament are Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, the NSC, Flavours Boss BBQ Grill; and the Colin Talbot Construction Services.
