Old Fort edge out Bingo Spartans for U-21 Championship

In the concluding match of the Guyana Hockey Board’s (GHB’s) Junior National Indoor Hockey Championships, on Sunday evening at the National Gymnasium, Old Fort Gold Chasers managed to edge past the dominant GCC Bingo Spartans to cop the Under-21 female title.
However, the ladies from the GCC Bingo Spartans team had other reasons to celebrate, as did the Under-21 GCC Pitbulls and the Under-16 Joseph Stars.
The five-day championships, which saw competition in the Under-10, Under-13, Under-16 and Under-21 divisions, also saw the GCC Thunder emerging as the most dominant children’s team in the Under-10 division, wherein they copped the title. Their category was played in a round-robin format, which saw them coming out victorious after accumulating the most points.
Meanwhile, the Saints Scalpels led the charge in the Under-13 Mixed division. Scalpels’ final encounter saw them defeating Saints Scorchers 3-2 for the championship.
This led the way for the semifinal and finals of the fiercely contested Under-16 and Under-21 divisions on Sunday.
The male Under-16 division was championed by Joseph Stars, who again defeated Saints in a close encounter. Both teams were tied 2-2 at the half, but Joseph’s Warren Williams broke the lock and carried his team to victory three goals to two.
The fortunes were read correctly in the Girls’ Under-16 division, as the Bingo Spartans played to an unbeaten championship. In the semi, Spartans made light work of the GCC Her-ricanes with a 4-0 win to book their final spot.
They were met in the final by the Saints, who cruised to a penalty shootout win over Joseph Stars 2-0.
Spartans played their usual attacking game in the final, with star players Abosaide Cadogan and Sarah Klautky netting one each for the 2-0 win over Saints.
Little did they know their celebrations would be halted later in the evening by the Old Fort Gold Chasers. With confidence on their side, Bingo Spartans repeated their Under-16 semifinal feat with a 2-0 victory over Her-ricanes, whilst Old Fort blazed past Saints 3-1.
In a match that was sure to go the Bingo Spartans’ way, the usually aggressive team was quieted by Old Fort’s superb defence, which restricted the Bingo Spartans from scoring. Old Fort, on the other hand, copped an early goal from Carolyn Deane, and held on to their lead even in the midst of the Bingo Spartans’ scoring tactics. The match eventually ended 1-0 in Old Fort Gold Chasers’ favour.
The most entertaining final match of the night had to be given to Pitbulls’ and Old Fort’s encounter in the Male Under-21 category. The highly intense match ended in a 3-3 draw, plunging the game into penalties, much to the delight of the spectators. In the shootout, Pitbulls proved to be the better team, scoring 2-1 for the championship.