Santos, Police, Buxton and Soesdyke live to play another day

GFF Elite League play-offs

Four Football Clubs will compete today for the chance to be part of the fourth season of the Guyana Football Federation’s (GFF) Elite League, after a day of riveting football at the National Training Centre (NTC) on Saturday.
Eight teams who have shined in their respective Regional Member Associations (RMA) during 2018, were all brought to the NTC on Saturday, pitting them against each other with Elite League qualification being the prize. When the dust settled on the artificial turf on Saturday afternoon, Santos FC, Buxton Stars FC, Police FC and Soesdyke Falcons FC were the ones emerging victorious.
The first encounter of the day saw Santos FC thrashing FC Eagles for their chance at qualification. The scoring began with Jermaine Beckles in the 17th minute and two minutes later, he pushed the score to 2-0. Jermine Padmore had his time to shine, brining in the team’s third in the 31st and Orin Yard made it 4-0 just before the half. Trevor Lewis and Ryan October both picked up one each in the second half, while Yard had his second and Beckles completed his hat trick. FC Eagles could not muster a reply, finishing the game on 8-0.
Playing for a chance to battle Santos, Georgetown Football Club and Buxton Stars FC took to the turf minutes later. It was really a one-sided affair with Buxton’s Shemar Mc Pherson netting the lone goal of the game in the 29th for Buxton’s win.
River’s View put a strong fight but Police FC still prevailed in the following encounter. Steffon Ramsey was the first player to connect with the goal in the 26th and a minute later, Rivers View’s Omario Lake equalised. The levelled scores only made Police fight harder as Lionel Holder (48), Daren Benjamin (60), and Deon Rodney (83) all contributed one a piece for Police’s 4-1 victory.
The final game of the day was a match-up between New Amsterdam United and Soesdyke Falcons FC, with the former fighting hard to stay in the Elite League. NA United had victory at the tip of their lips but the pleasure was taken away with some late goals from Soesdyke. Jamal Butts netted back to back goals in the 6th and 32nd minutes for NA United, while Tyrone Khan netted for Soesdyke to bring the halftime score to 2-1. Leandro Adams was pushed the score to 3-1 in the 56th and NA United were cruising to a victory until the 78th minute.
Kelcey Benson scored for Soesdyke Falcons in the 78th and Colin Mc Lean did the same in the 80th to tie up the scores. The teams were then taken to the penalty line where Soesdyke outscored NA United 5-4.
Today at the NTC, Providence, Santos will take on Buxton Star at 10:00h and Police FC will battle Soesdyke Falcons at 13:00h for the last two Elite League spots.