The preliminary round of the Rupununi Football Association (RFA) Champions League has been completed, and the knockout stages have commenced.
The Guyana Rush Saints, a female team, have moved into the quarterfinal round, while the Paiwomak Warriors, a male team, have advanced into the semifinals.
In the first matchup of the female quarterfinals, Guyana Rush Saints dominated Sun Parakeets for the entire match, in the process administering them a 5-0 thrashing. Amanda Cabral registered the first goal of that match in the 16th minute. Eight minutes later, she blasted another into the back of the net as she made her opponent’s defence look useless.
Guyana Rush Saints
She returned in the 31st minute to improve her tally of goals by taking the score to 3-0 in the first half.
Needing a resurgence, Sun Parakeets failed to rise to the challenge, even as Rosie Ritchie scored the Saints’ fourth goal in the 65th minute; while Cabral returned in the 87th minute to improve her tally of goals to four.
In the male quarterfinals, Paiwomak Warriors eased past Sun Parakeets 2-1 to book their spot in the semifinals. The first goal came off the boot of Stephen Glasgow in the 11th minute, to give Paiwomak an early lead. The final goal came in the 38th minute, to hand Paiwomak a 2-0 lead at half time.
In second-half play, Royal Leo of Sun Parakeets managed to slip the lone goal of the second half past his opponents. However, it was not enough to save them, as Paiwomak Warriors tightened their defenses to keep the Parakeets at bay.
The female teams competing in this tournament are Sun Parakeets, Guyana Rush Saints, Strikers FC, Titans United, Kanuku Harpies, Flash FC, Paiwomak Warriors and Gladiators FC (Defending Champions); while the male competing teams are Sun Parakeets, Paiwomak Warriors, Titans United, Kanuku Harpies, Jaguars FC, Guyana Rush Saints, Strikers FC and Tabatinga FC (Defending Champions).
The Rupununi Football Association Leagues kicked off in February last with 24 clubs battling for top honours.
