NAPPS inter-school football competition begins in Berbice

Aug 10, 2009 Sports

A number of schools have scored impressive victories as the inaugural New Amsterdam Secondary Schools football tournament got on the way on Saturday and continued yesterday at the All Saints Scots Church ground in New Amsterdam Berbice.

The tournament which is being sponsored by the New Amsterdam Primary Secondary School Football Foundation (NAPPS) saw two games being played on Saturday and a further three on Sunday.

In Saturday’s action Tutorial Academy Secondary School (TASS) hammered Skeldon Line path Secondary 6-0. TASS surge was led by Cleroy Joseph with a hat-trick while Delroy Ferdinand and Ohene Stewart netted one each. In the second encounter Vryman’s Erven Secondary School (VESS) blasted Rosignol Secondary School 6-2, With Garfield Millington leading the way with a hat-trick while Roger Crandon netted a double and Pierre King one.

Yesterday, three matches were played and results saw Rosignol Secondary rebounding to beat Skeldon Line Path Secondary 2-0.

In the second encounter Berbice High School (BHS) edged Canje Secondary School (CSS) 3-2 in a closely fought encounter. Xavier Fraser (2) and Ralph Caesar (1) were the marksmen for BHS, while Dwayne Conway and Samuel Johnson responded for CSS.

The final encounter saw New Amsterdam Multilateral Secondary School (NAMS) blasting Berbice Educational Institute 8-0 in a one sided affair.

Leading the charge for NAMS were Shem Rowe, Anthony Bekhan and Kevin Kirton with a double each while Jermaine Lambert and Andrew Caesar netted one apiece.

Two exhibition games were also played on Saturday. The first encounter saw an all female match which was between two teams made up of the Players that participated in the Inter Guiana Games competition. That match ended in a 1-1 draw Kean Ann Trim and Jewel Steele netting for their respective teams. The second game between two U-13 select teams ended in a 0 – 0 draw.

The competition will continue next Saturday with BEI taking on CSS, TASS matching skill with BHS and NAMS coming up against VESS.

Earlier on Saturday the eight competing schools were part of an impressive opening ceremony and which included a march past which was held at the Scot School ground.

The participants were addressed by Former National Stalwart Roger Alphonso who is the brains behind the competition.

Former Mayor of New Amsterdam and past President of the Guyana Football Association Errol Alphonso, who was also the manager of the winning NAPPS football team, also spoke at the gathering.

He recalled how 39 years ago at the Fort Canje Hospital Ground in Berbice, the history making New Amsterdam Primary/Secondary Schools football team defied the odds and rose to the occasion and defeated their Georgetown counterparts in the finals of the Guyana Teachers Union national football championships. It was the first win for the New Amsterdam/Canje team.

Alphonso also told the gathering that victory was a major opening for football in Berbice. After that he said five junior players and five senior players were selected on the respective national squads’. Before that “you had to be either living or playing in Georgetown or for a Georgetown team before you could have been selected on a Guyana team”.

Among those in attendance at the ceremony were former national players; overseas based Mark Alphonso, Martin and Granton Inniss among others.

Berbice High School was voted the best dressed team at the march past.