After a dismal stint participating in the Limacol Football Tournament in 2018, Pele FC are participating in the 2019 edition of this tournament with a steely determination to excel; and on Tuesday evening, they won their first group encounter.
The battle between Pouderoyen and Beacons was intense in their stalemate
The management of the Pele FC team have finally seen the fruits of their labour, after making the decision to cultivate a youthful team.
Coming up against the Mahaica Determinators in the third match of the Limacol Football Tournament, which began on Saturday last, Pele, intent on turning around their fortunes, saw their player Daniel Gibson being the first to find the back of the net, in the 21st minute of play, to give them the advantage.
The youthful Pele FC were dominant on Tuesday evening
The Mahaica Determinators goalkeeper was however able to hold out for the rest of the half, leaving the score at 1-0.
In the second half, Pele were dominant early on, resulting in Dorwin George registering another goal in the 52nd minute of play for a Pele 2-nil score line.
Luck was not with the Mahaica Determinators, their Kevon Giddings fumbling in front of the nets in the 62nd minute to end up scoring an own goal and giving Pele a 3-nil advantage.
Speaking on the 3-0 victory, Pele captain Mark Jallou emphasised the team’s youth component and noted that they are grateful for the win.
“We wasn’t training a lot or so, so it was good that we could come out and get a victory. As you could see, it’s Pele! We’re now coming back with a youth team, not the normal senior players; so the win was excellent for us,” he explained.
The player went on to share some of the areas that team members hope to work on for their next encounter.
“One thing is fitness; we have to work on that. We still have to work on getting our passes together, and just basic teamwork. That’s all we have to look at so far,” Jallou noted.
In the second encounter of the night, Beacons FC and Pouderoyen FC played to a one-all draw. Pouderoyen’s Eon Sullivan was the first to find the back of the net, in the 29th minute; but Beacons’ Wesley Greenidge equalized in the 64th minute. Thereafter, neither side was able to get the advantage for the remainder of regulation time.
When the action resumes on Friday, September 6 at the Ministry of Education Ground on Carifesta Avenue, Buxton Stars will go head-to-head with Georgetown Football Club (GFC), and Fruta Conquerors FC will face off against Northern Rangers.
The tournament is sponsored by the New GPC under its Limacol brand, and will see the champions walking away with $400,000. Second, third and fourth places will cop $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively. The tournament is also supported by W.J Enterprise, sole distributors of Croxley paper.
