One Guyana King and Queen of the Sand Football… PM Phillips opens 3rd edition following colourful march-past

…5 wins and a draw recorded

Prime Minister, Brigadier (Retired) Mark Phillips on Independence night officially opened the third edition of the One Guyana King and Queen of the Sand Football competition in the bauxite mining town of Linden.
Following a colourful march-past of 24 of the 28 contesting teams, eight of which are female, Prime Minister Phillips, in his feature remarks, reminded the players of Government’s commitment and steadfast assurance to the development of the nation’s athletes as well as promoting communal interaction through the powerful medium of sport.

The tournament, which has seen widespread participation of teams outside of the bauxite mining town, is being contested at the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Linden office ground and admission is free.
Over $6 million in cash and other incentives is at stake with the winner of the Queen segment of the tournament set to collect $800,000, with second, third, and fourth to be rewarded with $300,000, $200,000 and $100,000, respectively.
The top prize for the King segment is a whopping $1,500,000, with second getting $500,000, third $200,000 and fourth $100,000. There will also be incentives for the best goalkeeper, highest goal scorer and the Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Two matches in the Queen competition heralded the start of this year’s edition with Iconic Strikers setting the tone as they hammered Rockstone, 7-0. Doubles each came off the feet of Janelle Edmonson (5th, 8th), Horicia Adams (5th, 18th), and Shontel Greene (7th, 15th). The other goal was recorded by Shanic Thornhill in the 14th minute.

The next Queen match-up ended in an exciting draw between Avocado Ballers and Hururu. It was Avocado Ballers who broke the deadlock six minutes into the game when Mananjel Mendoza breached the opponents’ defence and goalkeeper guard.
That advantage did not last for long as Uickesha Persaud responded in like manner for Hururu one minute later. The second of three eight-minute segments in the Queen contest saw Avocado Ballers once again retaking the lead, this time it was a Norkelyn Hernandez goal in the 10th minute that did the trick.
But, like before, Hururu fired back to even the score in the 15th minute through Shalam Frederick. Neither team were able to score again and each walked away with a point.
Each of the four matches in the King competition ended in victory. Team Mineral was too strong for Swan FC, winning 4-1. Kelroy Anthong (6th), Tino Thomas (18th), Jermaine King (23rd) and Travon Croal (27th) inked their names on the scoresheet for the winners. Swan’s consolation goal was scored by Mark Loncke in the eighth minute.
Rockstone’s Daniel Adolph was the hero of their 3-1 triumph over Hardball Management. Adolph scored all the goals with the lone strike for Hardball Management coming from Marcus Forde.
HH Ballers blanked Avocado Ballers 3-0 on account of goals from Malakai Todd (2nd), and a brace from Shamar Caesar (24th, 26th). The final clash of the night saw Bomberz edging YMCA 2-1.
Both goals for Bomberz were scored by D Samuels in the sixth and 11th minute. The lone reply for YMCA came from K Gettino. Action will continue on Friday night at the same venue with two Queen and five King matches.
The top two teams from each of the groups in both competitions will advance following round-robin play.