Latest update April 24th, 2026 12:40 AM
GCC ‘A’, Hikers ‘B’ open with victories
Ashley DeGroot
Aderemi Simon
The curtain rose last Wednesday night at Thirst Park for the opening matches of this year’s Banks Night Hockey Championships and spectators were treated to four entertaining and fast paced matches, at the beautifully lit venue.
GCC ‘A’ surged to an early lead in the men’s First Division Competition with their 1-0 victory over Old Fort, while the Second Division segment saw two drawn matches.
Old Fort ‘B’ drew 1-1 with Degenerates and GCC ‘B’ and Flora GCC ladies ended 3-3, while in an all Hikers clash, the Men’s ‘B’ team swamped their female counterparts 6-0.
In the feature game of the night, the opening minutes seemed to be an Aderemi Simon show as the Old Fort star striker made several aggressive raids, weaving his way through the heavy defensive traffic to create several scoring chances on the GCC goal.
GCC sweeper Dwayne Scott and his troops managed to keep the score at nil-all, however, and the Bourda boys swung the balance in the 13th minute when Orland Semple pounced on a rebound from a Devin Hooper attempt to put his side up by one.
GCC settled into a better rhythm in the second half and seemed destined to improve on their score line, but were unable to penetrate Michel Smith between the uprights for Old Fort as the match ended in victory for GCC.
In the opening bout of the evening which was an all-GCC affair, the Second Division line-up gained a comfortable 3-0 lead by the half through goals from newcomers Mark Sergeant with a double and Brian Gomes.
Ladies Captain Sonia Jardine led the comeback charge for her Flora girls deep into the second period with a diving attempt, before Ashley DeGroot in the 45th and Brennette Gordon in the penultimate minute, added one each to tie the game, just before the final buzzer.
Old Fort ‘B’ and Degenerates battled to a stalemate as a brilliant first-time opener by Jonathan Yearwood of the Degenerates in the 23rd minute was matched by a Robert Hussein tip in five minutes into the second half.
The ever-improving Hikers ‘B’ demolished the Hikers ladies who fielded a young rebuilding side. Kenny Kansinally in the 4th minute and Ryan Primo in the 17th gave the Hikers boys a 2-0 lead at the half. Kansinally added one more in the second half although the scoring was all, but dominated by Akeem Thompson who poured in a hat-trick.
Matches continue at Thirst Park next Wednesday with Flora GCC playing Hikers ‘B’; GCC ‘B’ versus Hikers ladies and Degenerates taking on Western Dragons, all in Second Division play, while the feature clash is between Hikers ‘A’ and Old Fort ‘A’ in Men’s First Division action.
Matches start at 18:30hrs.
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.