“One Guyana” President’s Cup: Regions 3, 4 mutilate opponents to arrive at final

The National Track and Field Center (NTFC) at Leonora, West Coast Demerara was transformed into a proverbial slaughterhouse on Wednesday night when the New GPC Inc’s Region 4 team and the Caribbean Airlines’ Region 3 team warred their way into the final of the One Guyana President’s Cup football tournament.
Two lopsided victories provided ample testimony to the ensuing carnage that resulted when Region 4 thumped Region Five 8-1, and Region 3 defeated Region Seven by a 5-2 margin.

The first semifinal was contested between Regions 4 and 5, and although the eventual winners took some time to find their groove, when the goals started coming, it rained goal, in a manner of speaking.

Nicholas Mc Arthur found the back of the net in the 18th and 30th minutes as he outfoxed the goalkeeper on both occasions. In the 42nd minute, a set piece sent across by Omari Glasgow was expertly headed into the nets by Jeremy Garrett for Region 4’s third goal. Then Kelsey Benjamin closed off the half with a penalty conversion that produced a 4-0 scoresheet after the first 45.
In the second half, Omari Glasgow quickly pushed the score to 5-0 with a header in the 51st minute, and Captain Daniel Wilson netted in the 53rd, while Glasgow returned in the 55th for another on-target strike. Samuel Garnett performed the last rites for Region 5 when he scored Region 4’s eighth goal in the 71st; while Region 5’s consolation goal came off the boots of Abumuchi Benjamin in the 85th.
Speaking with Guyana Times Sport after his team’s victory, Region 4’s Head Coach Wayne Dover gave reason for his team’s exceptional performance. “Well, it was the intention to have the intensity because, as the Region 5 team was labelled the dark horse, we’ve noticed that they’re a competitive team, and we couldn’t take any chance with them. Had we allowed them to settle into this game, we would’ve made it very difficult for us,” he said. “So, we put out a team which we think that would bring the intensity and get this result.”
Dover added, “I don’t want to sound like if, you know, we are trying to highlight the poorness of the other regions in any way, but I think we’ve played well, and I hope that we win this tournament.”
Region 3 encountered some resistance from the unpredictable Region 7 outfit early in the second semifinal, but held their composure to pull off the victory. It was only the 3rd minute when Region 7’s Whiteney Welcome handed his team the lead, but Delon Lanferman ably levelled the scores in the 24th, while Trayon Bobb quickly found the lead for the ‘home team’ in the 31st.
Lanferman added another in the 55th, but a successful penalty for Region 7’s Andrew Simmons in the 69th reignited Region 7’s hopes of equalising. However, two more goals from Jamal Perreira and Colwyn Adams, in the 72nd and 81st minutes respectively, put a victory far out of Region 7’s reach.
The final of the One Guyana President’s Cup will be staged on Sunday, January 1, 2023 at a venue to be confirmed. (Jemima Holmes)