Kashif & Shanghai quarter-final begins tonight at Stadium

Dec 25, 2009 Sports

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Dwayne Ali double guides Tigers to
4-0 whipping of Kings; GDF fires past Seawall 3-1

By Franklin Wilson
The quarter-finals of the 20th Kashif and Shanghai Football tournament will commence this evening at the Guyana National Stadium Providence with what is anticipated to be a gripping double header.
Defending champions Pele will be tested by the red hot Guyana Defence Force just off of a hard fought 3-1 win over West Demerara’s Seawall FC at the GFC ground on Wednesday evening. Tonight’s opening clash will see upstarts Riddim Squad taking on Sunburst Camptown in what is expected to be another keen battle.
Riddim Squad to date, have accounted for two teams, they defeated Ann’s Grove and Rosignol United by similar 2-1 margins but will face their toughest opposition in Camptown who hammered Buxton United 5-0 in their first game at the Enmore ground.
At stake for the winners this evening is a place in the semi-finals set for the 28th at the same venue.
The final two quarter-final games will be played tomorrow at separate venues. At the GFC ground in the city from 20:00hrs, Alpha United will face Fruta Conquerors while up at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground, Linden, Bakewell Topp XX will be tested by BK International Western Tigers. The respective winners will also advance to the semi-finals.
In latest play on Wednesday evening at the GFC ground, BK International Western Tigers after being held to a goalless first half by Victoria Kings bolted away in the second half to whip the East Coast side 4-0 while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who were also held to a 0-0 stalemate after the first 45 minutes by a determined Seawall outfit, eventually came out 3-1 winners.
The Tigers/Kings match up saw the East Coast side controlling the first half with Pierre Joseph enjoying an excellent half in midfield. The Kings created chances but did not make them count. On the other hand, Tigers showed flashes of brilliance as they tried to work their way into match rhythm.
But the final 45 minutes saw the tables turning as the Tigers finally began to work their way into ominous form, the combination of UK based Shawn Beveney in particular in tandem with Devon Millington, left back Colin Nelson and Dwayne Ali took the game away from the Kings.
The three players mentioned before provided the first great spark of the half in the 65th minute when Beveney squeezed through a pass to Millington who sent it on to Ali whose shot saw goalkeeper Andrew Durant bring off a point blank save resulting in a corner kick.
It was from this play that the Tigers cantered into the lead, Nelson’s shot finding the head of Beveney who made no mistake in guiding the ball past Durant in the 67th minute. The ice finally being broken, the Tigers took more control of the game.
Dwayne Ali, who suffered a cut to his head during a challenge for the ball briefly, left the field to seek medical attention. It seemed that his {Ali}brief absence from the game served as to re-energize him to the extent that he banged in a double in the 74th and 88th minute.
The King’s defence was caught woefully out of place in the final 25 minutes and the Tigers capitalized fully on their lapses. Phillip Rowley added his name to the score sheets with a well timed goal of his own in the first minute of added on time to complete the Tigers rout.
The opening game saw Seawall putting up a tough challenge against the GDF. The West Demerara based side created quite a few openings in the opening half but again failed to make them count, Clement Brown, the most glaring when he missed an open goal five minutes before the half.
The deadlock was finally broken 4 minutes into the second half from the penalty spot after a Seawall player handled the ball in the area. Eusi Phillips took the kick and beat goalie Marvin Griffith to his right even though he went in the right direction.
One minute later, Seawall’s Head Coach Ron Austin was ordered off the bench and this move certainly had an impact on the focus of the players whose game fell away thereafter.
The Army’s next two goals were fired in by two of their four loan players from the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force, making their investment worth the while.
Defender David Alleyne slammed in the second goal in the 61st minute while forward Kevin Carter sealed the deal three minutes later.
Clement Brown was finally able to hit the nets in the 67th minute with a beautiful shot on the run in the 67th minute but it was too little too late for the Seawall side.
The GDF were reduced to 10 men in the 80th minute when Devon Harris was sent off for committing serious foul play. His expulsion did not alter the result of the game.

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