Latest update April 1st, 2025 5:37 PM
Banks DIH Night Hockey Tournament
Old Fort too strong for Hikers
Askofu Simon fires in hat-trick
Askofu Simon
Old Fort First Division men’s team inflicted a crushing 4-0 defeat on Everest Hikers last Thursday night in the penultimate round of the Banks DIH Night Hockey Competition which is being played, at the Thirst Park ground.
The player to do the damage was the in-form Askofu Simon, who slammed in a hat-trick, while Canada-based Jonathan Roberts was also in vintage form as he completed the tally and has one assist in a solid all-round performance.
After an evenly balanced opening 15 minutes, Simon gave his team the lead when he reached onto a pass from Roberts and smacked his shot past the lanky Jason Hoyte. That goal came in the 20th minute of play.
No other goals were scored before the half time whistle sounded, but two minutes after the resumption, Old Fort resumed their assault when Simon neatly deflected a delivery past Hoyte.
He stretched their advantage further with another wonderful effort in the 46th minute, before Roberts crowned an efficient night, reaching on to an aerial pass and calmly slotting the ball past an advancing Hoyte.
It was fitting revenge for their earlier loss, but must be ruing the previous defeat at the hands of Hikers, who have placed themselves in a commanding position to win the title.
They next play Shakatan and it would take a Herculean effort by the National Under-21 side to deny them the trophy, while Old Fort must beat GCC to keep their chances of winning in the event of a Hikers loss alive.
Alan Fernandes
Earlier, the two teams Second Division sides had battled to a 1-1 draw as prolific goal scorer Teon Joaquin, who netted in the 13th minute for Old Fort kept his quest for Most Valuable Player alive, while Andrew Stewart got the equaliser for Everest just two minutes later.
The result means that the two teams top the pool and set up a rematch in Saturday’s final. The GCC First Division men made light work of Shakatan in a repeat of their first round duel by handing out a 3-0 beating.
Alan Fernandes, who has consistently been in the scorer’s column, recorded a double and Patrick Edghill added a single for GCC.
Western Dragons earned their first points of the competition in their last pool match against the lone female team in the competition, GCC Tigers.
The Tigers took the lead through a blistering shot by Brennette Gordon in the 16th minute, but the Dragons pace proved decisive for them and Jermaine Austin and Deon Carew slammed in one apiece to pull off the victory.
In the First Division competition, Hikers lead the table with 12 points followed by Old Fort on 10, GCC with 7 and Shakatan yet to register a point.
Everest have all but secured the trophy as it would require an unlikely victory by cellar-dwellers Shakatan against them along with an Old Fort victory over GCC to propel Old Fort onto the winners podium.
At the end of the Second Division pool round, Old Fort sits atop the table with 10 points followed by Everest on 8, Carib Degenerates 7, Western Dragons 3 and GCC Tigers 0.
Old Fort and the Everest Hikers will clash in the final of this segment. The final night of matches is scheduled for tonight from 18:30 hrs.
In the fixtures: Hikers vs. Tigers in a Ladies exhibition game followed by the Second Division final, Hikers vs. Shakatan and GCC vs. Old Fort in two First Division matches.
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