Alpha bang Gelder de Kourou 3-1; GDF draw with Inter Moengotapoe 2-2

Aug 26, 2010 Sports

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By Franklin Wilson

Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United cantered into the lead for top honours at the Inter Guiana Club Championship with a commanding 3-1 win over French Guiana’s top club Gelder de Kourou when the 3rd Edition of the competition kicked off at the GCC Ground Bourda yesterday afternoon.
The other Guyanese club side in the tournament, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) squandered a 2-0 half time advantage, with Suriname club champions, Inter Moengotapoe, capitalising on the laid back approach of the GDF to score an equal amount of goals, both teams having to settle for a point each with the 2-2 full time score.
Alpha, the leading club in Guyana for the past 4 years; featuring a number of star players found themselves trailing the French Guiana side 7 minutes into the game. Like the GDF they took some time to settle; Gelder pouncing on that period of uncertainty to go one up.
Charlot Souvenson netted from a goal mouth scramble resulting from a corner on the right side of Alpha’s goal (Regent Road); indecisive defending by Alpha led to them trailing.
The soggy nature of the outfield caused by a heavy downpour made conditions more challenging for the players but the home team gradually came into their own.
Shawn Bishop, playing outside left midfield pulled his side level with a left foot bomb from 45 yards out, taken from an acute angle. The shot sailed high into the air but dipped as it approached goal, even the tall Gelder custodian Appolinaire Johann who stretched to his fullest could not touch the ball as it dipped into the V settling in the side of the nets.
The equaliser added some life to the Guyanese players who gradually got in their game. Like the French and the Dutch sides, the Guyana clubs are aiming to win the competition which is used to assist the development of the sports in the three countries.
Dwight Peters and his Captain Howard Lowe were guilty of squandering a few chances, Lowe missing two clear headers within a 3 minute span while Peters was slow in shooting the ball after finding himself in a 1 v 1 situation with the keeper.
The local side continued to consolidate and created more chances as the game progressed. The go ahead goal came in the 35th minute when the ever alert and busy body Dwain Jacobs finished an excellent build up started by Peters on the left side.
Coming off an injury, Peters took the ball just inside the attacking third dribbled his way into the box before squaring and finding Shawn Bishop who’s tame shot to an open goal hit the upright and rebounded into play for the on rushing Jacobs to clean up the play, thus handing his side the lead.
Soon after, Alpha won a free kick just outside the box (centre); the ensuing shot by Jacobs was well parried over the bar by Johann in acrobatic fashion.
Alpha who utilised their full 5 substitutions and Gelder 3, sought to maintain the advantage as the game flowed on. The final nail was hammered in by Anthony Abrams 10 minutes in to the second half; the nippy forward worked his way down the left side of Gelder’s goal to slip the ball past the advancing Johann in the 55th minute.
Gelder did create some good chances while the Alpha defence stood up in some instances, the visitors forwards slipped and fell on a few occasions as the slippery conditions hampered their forward moves; not that the home team would have mind at all. The opening encounter saw the GDF wresting the early advantage as they worked their way to a 2-0 advantage against an Inter Moengotapoe side that looked out of it in terms of condition from as early as the 20th minute.
GDF’s player maker Marlon Benjamin, who had another outstanding game, gave them the lead in the 11th minute and it was doubled 2 minutes later by Peter Parks, both goals were fine efforts by the Army side.
The Soldiers though, failed to grind their opponents into the ground and were way too indecisive in their play, giving up possession all too easy and not taking the attack to the visitors.
Their lack of penetration was to be their down fall in the second half as the reinvigorated Inter Moengotapoe drilled took the fight to the home team from the start of the second half.
Vice Captain Ives Vlijter reduced GDF’s lead one minute after the break; the home team still operating in the first half mode. It was not long after the Army’s advantage was neutralised, this time the Captain himself, Patrick Jimmy taking matters into his own hands as he buried a penalty (54th minute) after one of his forwards was brought down.
The Army’s Technical staff wrung the changes as they searched for the right combination. Starter’s Hubert Pedro, Telson McKinnon, Royan Morrison, Desford Williams and Peters Parks made way for Kevin Lewis, Warren Gilkes, Sheik Kamal, Delroy Deen and Stellon David.
Both sides tried for the go ahead goal but it did not materialise.
The GDF will have to step up their game against Alpha United who they will face tomorrow evening in the feature game from 20:00hrs at the same venue; Inter Moengotapoe and Gelder de Kourou facing off in the curtain raiser from 18:00hrs.

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