Football will make an early return to the Ministry of Education Ground at Carifesta Avenue in Georgetown this year, as the third edition of the Turbo Knockout Football Tournament reconvenes tomorrow, Wednesday January 8.
A little of what to expect when the Turbo Knockout Tournament resumes on Wednesday evening
Following its November 2019 commencement, the third installment of the straight knockout tournament had been abruptly halted by heavy rains which had rendered the Carifesta Avenue venue unplayable. Tournament coordinators, The Petra Organization, had made the executive decision to wait out the usually rainy December season and restart the tournament in January 2020.
Everything is in place for the tournament to resume on Wednesday, when the final preliminary game will be contested. In that encounter, Limacol 2019 tournament runners-up Santos FC Under 20 will go head-to-head against the experienced Black Pearl FC at 18:30hrs, to determine the holders of the last spot in the tournament’s quarterfinal stage.
The quarterfinal stage will kick off on Friday evening with Pouderoyen taking on Buxton Under 20 at 19:00hrs, and Buxton Stars locking horns with Fruta Conquerors Under 20 at 21:00hrs.
The second set of quarter- final games, to be played on Sunday, January 12, will witness Riddim Squad squaring off against defending champions Northern Rangers at 19:00hrs, after which the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) will take on the winner of Wednesday night’s game.
For those who may not recall, the preliminary round of the Turbo Knockout Tournament was packed with excitement. Defending champions Northern Rangers had sent a resounding message about their intentions for the third installment of the tournament with a 6-5 victory over Timehri Panthers. That exhilarating encounter had seen a brace from Wendell St. Hill combining with single goals from Tevin Fowler, Tevin Bowen, Colin Clarke and Keith Caines to produce the Northern Rangers’ six goals.
The Timehri Panthers’ goal scorers were Shannon Samnauth, Oliver Denny, Travis Thornhill, Jared Walcott and Trek Khan.
Buxton Stars had edged past Camptown 1-0 through a 35th minute Jumai Major goal, and Pouderoyen had outclassed Pele in a 2-0 encounter.
Riddim Squad had made their way into the quarterfinal stage with a 3-1 victory over Eagles FC. Wendell Joseph had registered two goals, while Kevin Agard had added one for Riddim Squad’s three. Andre Adelph had netted the consolation goal for Eagles FC in the first minute.
After action from the penalty mark, Fruta Conquerors FC Under 20 had sealed their spot with a 4-2 penalty win over Police ‘B’. During regulation time, Wayne Baker and Amanike Buntin had scored for Fruta and Police respectively in the 1-1 lock.
A goal each from Ravi Junior and Kelsey Benjamin had ensured that Georgetown Football Club (GFC) would get a quarterfinal spot ahead of Mahaica Determinators, while the tournament’s other Under 20 outfit, Buxton United, had schooled Uitvlugt FC 3-1.
The winner of the Guyana Beverage Inc-sponsored tournament would walk away with the grand prize of $400,000; while the team placing second would obtain $200,000, the team placing third would pocket $100,000, and the team placing fourth would bag $50,000. (Jemima Holmes)
