Hackett credits GDF’s championship win to hard work, commitment
Ryan Hackett speaking with media operatives
Following a heart-thumping KFC Elite League Cup final, wherein they were made to hold their nerves in order to pull off a win on sudden death penalty kicks, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Football Club have asserted themselves as the best club around currently.
Assessing the achievement, midfielder Ryan ‘Bom Bom’ Hackett, who had been wearing the captain’s armband at the time of the clinical victory, explained what the win meant to GDF FC.
“It’s a great feeling. Who now the players out there, who stood up to the challenge and come through victorious. You know, and we want to thank the players who make this possible and coaching staff and everyone who put a hand in,” Hackett shared with this publication.
It was a see-saw battle on January 1, as Western Tigers played their first game with their usual Head Coach Calvin Allen and GDF lost the services of a player just after halftime. While noting it was tough for his team, Hackett revealed that they still viewed the opposition the same, given their quality.
Hackett shared about the red- card infraction, “It was a real tough feeling, because we went down short of a man. So, going in with ten players, we had to work hard and we had to go deep.
A relook at final action in the Elite League Cup
“No, we don’t feel like GDF come into the game [with an advantage]. We respect we opposition. We know Western is a very good team, and you know them get very good player, and we just come to play we brand of football,” the GDF player said as he turned his attention to Western Tigers’ predicament.
With the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) hinting at the 6th Elite League’s commencement in February, ‘Bom Bom’ opined that the game was good preparation for the upcoming season.
“Yeah, this give we a lot of confidence. We just take one game at a time, you know. Every game is like a final to GDF. So, as it come, we just treat it like a finals,” he explained.
The GDF Football Team won both the 5th edition of the KFC Elite League and the KFC Elite League Cup in 2023, with Western Tigers and the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Football Club being the respective runners-up on both occasions.
