Fruta Conquerors beat Victoria Kings on penalty kicks; Netrockers trounce Bakewell Buxton Stars 2-0

Dec 18, 2010 Sports

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It was not a fruitful night for East Coast teams when the second day of action in the 21st edition of the Kashif & Shanghai knock-out football tournament unfolded at the Enmore Community Centre last evening.
Both Victoria Kings and Bakewell Buxton Stars were sent packing by their respective opponents in another exciting double header joining Buxton United and Riddim Squad as the teams to exit this year’s tournament to date.
In the feature game; dubbed as the clash of former champs, Fruta Conquerors held their nerves in a nail biting spectacle to defeat a tuff 9-man Victoria Kings 4-3 on penalty kicks after the two sides battled to a pulsating 3-3 tie in regulation and extra time.
The first game of the evening saw Upper Demerara’s Netrockers rocking their way past Bakewell Buxton Stars 2-0 compliments of first half goals from Keon Bristol in the 28th minute and Matthew Pollard in the 35th.
Despite the Kings who won the K&S in 2000/2001 losing two of their players in Aubrey Gibson in the 57th minute and Sherlock Dowden in extra time (121st minute), both receiving two yellow cards each, Conquerors could not press home the advantage of having two more players than the opposition.
The Georgetown based side on account of a double from Trinidad and Tobago based Vernon Mills who rocked the nets with two well executed headers in the 5th and 16th minute were sitting comfortable at the end of the first half having dominated their rivals for the most part.
The Kings, backed by a large and vociferous band of supporters created some opportunities of their own but just could not hit the network and perhaps felt that luck was not running their way.
The home team took some time to settle but whenever they were able to penetrate the final third they looked threatening.
Mills’ first goal hit the network after a high pass to him from midfielder Delon Williams was skillfully headed over the advancing goalkeeper Shidon Farias 5 minutes into the game. Mills was the player to watch up front by the Kings whose defenders did not do a good job in defending the high balls. After the restart of the ball following the opening goal, Kings almost tied the score but the ball from a fierce shot off the boot of Rolston Morrison hit the upright and rebounded into play with custodian Colin Edwards well beaten.
Mills delivered clinically again for his side when on 16 minutes he again rose above the Kings defense to head home goal number 2 coming against the light but steady Atlantic breeze.
Kings again came very close to pulling one back; in the 40th minute Aubrey Gibson’s shot hit the crossbar and returned into play to the disappointment of his team and supporters.
While Conquerors were looking comfortable with their two goal cushion, the Kings regrouped and came out with more vigor in the second half. They were rewarded with their first goal seven minutes into the half when the hard working Aubrey Gibson took the ball deep into Conquerors’ final third before squaring with his left foot to find Morrison who made no mistake in rocking the back of the nets.
Conquerors at that point were way too comfortable; lacking the punch and crispness of play they had displayed in the first half. The goal brought the Kings back to life and the battle was well and truly on in a game which saw a total of six yellow cards issued.
Both sides made changes but it was the Kings whose changes made all the difference. The introduction of Orin Elias changed the matchup in its entirety as he displayed the type of energy up front that was lacking for the Kings. Within 10 minutes of him {Elias} taking the field, the Kings not only evened the score but took the lead.
Elias netted in the 70th and 77th minute to turn the game around for his side and the ecstatic fans. But within one minute of taking the lead that situation changed as Conquerors’ Dwayne Lawrence brought his team back into contention with the equliser.
When the final whistle sounded and extra time was needed, that too did not separate the sides. Penalty kicks was the next step and at this juncture, Conquerors nailed their opponents. Mills, Gerald Grittens, Eon Alleyne and Trevon Lythcott all scored for Conquerors who did not need to take their final shot since the Kings missed their 4th and 5th kicks.
Netrockers nailed the energetic Bakewell Buxton Stars in the opening clash; Buxton Stars started the game in robust style but lacked the punch upfront which the Linden side executed efficiently to score through Bristol and Pollard.
The win for both teams have taken them into the group-of-16; Conquerors will face Pele on Tuesday at the GFC while Netrockers have earned a date with fellow Linden side Milerock on December 23 at the Mackenzie sports Club Ground in Linden.

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