Guyana, Galacticos De Roraima, T&T, Georgetown record wins

GFF/ExxonMobil International Futsal Festival…

The Guyana Football Federation (GFF)/ExxonMobil International Futsal Festival commenced on Thursday, December 27, at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Homestretch Avenue as Guyana, Galacticos De Roraima, Trinidad & Tobago and Georgetown All-Stars record victories on the first night.
In the headline match of the evening, the Brazilian team, Galacticos De Roraima battled it out with West Demerara All-Stars in a one-sided affair as the foreigners crushed the local side 11-3. The Brazilian side took command of the match early as Raphael Lopes blazed one into the back of the net in the third minute; following his lead Romailson De Jesus added his name to the score sheet in the fifth minute

to leave the West side facing a 2-0 deficit.
Things went further downhill for the All-Stars as the Brazilian side utilised every opportunity scoring goals in quick succession as Lopes returned to add four more goals to his name in the ninth, 21st, 37th and 39th minutes respectively.
He was supported by De Jesus, who tormented the West Demerara side by adding insult to injury in the 22nd and 30th minute. Lucas Martins and Joao Da Costa picked up a goal apiece in the 10th and 19th minutes to end the evening despite conceding three goals, which came in the 19th minute compliments of Treyon Bobb and Dexroy Adams in the 39th and 40 minutes as they attempted a resurgence.
In the other matchup, Georgetown All-Stars trounced the ZV All- Stars 8-2 as the Surinamese side could be seen visibly agitated, as they gave away more goals than they intended. The Georgetown side played in unison and was able to score goals quickly as their communication could be seen in their own play. Scoring first for the Georgetown side was Gregory Richardson; six minutes later, Wij Kes Jemel equalised to take the score to 1-1 within the first 10 minutes of play. However, things did not go as planned for the Surinamese side as what started out as exhilarating ball play quickly turned slow, dreary and lacking in direction play as the men from Suriname allowed Pernell Shultz to sneak into their box and score two goals in quick succession in the 13th and 15th minute. Three minutes later, Phillip Rowley added his name to the tally as the Surinamese boys showed signs of frustrations and their play gradually degraded. Later on in the game, four more goals were added to the tally of the Georgetown All-Stars as Richardson returned in the 22nd minute, while Stephan McLean, Adrian Aaron and Ryan Hackett scoring a goal each in the 27th, 28th and 31st minutes of the game to take the GT side to the next round despite the consolation goal from Blijid Anthony in the 29th minute.
The Linden All-Stars and Trinidad and Tobago match had intensity as both teams showed their attacking prowess from ball one as they kept scoring goals regularly. The match began when Kerry Joseph of Trinidad drew first blood in the third minute of the game; three minutes later, support was lent to Joseph in the form of Rondel Ellcock to take the score to 2-0. Needing an equaliser, Tryric McAllister put his best foot forward to give the Linden team a shot at advancing to the next round when he blasted one in from outside of the box in the 14th minute to take the score to 2-1. But the Linden side’s hopes were dashed as the Trinidadians scored another goal in the 18th minute as Kevon Woodley took the score to 3-1, but Rawle Gitten was having none of that as he intended to give his team a fighting chance, taking the score to 3-2 in the 19th minute. Trinidad then accelerated as Joseph returned one minute later to take the score to 4-2. Despite Joel McKinnon, Jermaine Grandison and Deshawn Joseph’s goals in the 29th, 28th and 36th minute, the Trinidadian side pressed on and scored three more goals in the 30th and 31st minute, compliments of Jamal Williams and Nasim Akcia chipping in to culminate the match with Trinidad winning 7-5.
In the other fixture, Guyana defeated East Coast 4-0. The matches will continue today at 20:00h. (Timothy Jaikarran)