Alpha United are new champs; Conquerors arrest GDF for 3rd

Feb 26, 2013 Sports

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By Franklin Wilson

Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United have added another champion trophy and cheque to their wide array of accolades when they disposed of Santos FC 3-1 in the final of the NAMILCO One Love Classic contested at the Tucville Playfield on Sunday evening last.
Witnessed by a fair sized crowd and the top brass of main sponsor, NAMILCO which included their Managing Director Bert Sukhai, Finance Director Fitzroy McLeod, Engineer Ralph Hemsing and Director of Sport Neil Kumar, Alpha absorbed the initial fireworks of Santos before dousing them with some fireworks of their own to lift the crown.
Earlier, in the third place game, host team Fruta Conquerors were able to stave off a robust fight by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) before subduing and edging their opponents in the final 10 minutes, 2-1.
But all the attention for the evening was placed on the championship game of a tournament that has become a part of the football calendar which also serves as a fund-raiser for the Fruta Conquerors FC.
Santos, as was expected came out all guns blazing against the nation’s top club as they sought to exert early pressure on the team aka ‘The Hammer’. This ploy produced the desired results as Santos were awarded a penalty when the game was a mere 12 minutes old.
Santos’ Jermain Bamfield was brought down just inside the area on the left side and he made no mistake in sinking the ensuing penalty kick, blasting the ball past the tournament’s best goalkeeper, Richie Richards.
To have hounded Alpha down and take the lead was commendable and no doubt had taken the Alpha boys somewhat by surprise, but like the seasoned unit they are and led by Captain Anthony Abrams, they absorbed their pressure and gradually changed the tide.
Santos had the opportunity to double the advantage in about the 35th minute with goalie Richards already beaten; Ryan Seales shot went agonizingly past the right upright. The exchanges continued with Santos keeping up the pressure with Abrams and Andrew Murray trying their best to pull one back.

Santos did a fine job in keep Gregory Richardson out of the game but it was not an easy task. Their {Alpha} time would soon come with 4 minutes to half time. On an enterprising throw over from one of their calculated offensive raids, Abrams connected with a powerful header from within the six yards area that rebounded off custodian Oswald Cornette but before Cornette and the Santos defence could have thought about clearing the rebound, Mervin Joseph pounced on the loosed ball to redirect it back into the back of the nets.
Alpha, were now on a roll and made Santos pay for a defensive mistake a mere two minutes later. A fumble by Cornette too close for comfort was pounced upon by the lurking Murray who blasted home the first of his double on the night.
The break came soon after with Alpha feeling relieved having taken the lead following the early torment at the hands of their opponents.
As expected, the second half was almost a replica of the first in terms of the intensity of the game but this time, minus goals for the most part. The fact that goals were hard to come by worked to Alpha’s advantage having taken the lead.
But with one minute to game time, Murray, the tournaments Highest Goal Scorer with a total of 7, made sure that his team put the game well beyond the reach of Santos when he completed his double in the 89th minute. It was a beautiful goal to witness, an authoritative and well timed shot from about 25 yards out; Cornette did not have a sniffer of a chance to save the ball.
The third place encounter was a bruising affair between Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force, neither side giving up too many chances in their respective attacking thirds.
The game was finally decided in the last 10 minutes. First it was Eon Alleyne who would send Conquerors ahead from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute. But even as the home team was celebrating their lead, GDF’s Marlon Benjamin drew the Soldiers level two minutes after trailing.
With the minutes ticking away and both sides sensing that extra time would have been needed to separate them, Travis Thornhill sneaked in the winner for Conquerors in the penultimate minute of regulation time to secure the third place cheque of $400,000 for his team. GDF collected the fourth place prize of $200,000.
Alpha United received the champion’s cheque of $1.2M, while half that amount was presented to Santos. New Amsterdam United was voted the Most Disciplined Team.
Individual Prizes – Highest Goal Scorer – Alpha’s Andrew Murray with 7; Best Goalkeeper – Alpha’s Richie Richards; Most Valuable Player – Conquerors’ Dwayne Lawrence.
At the presentation ceremony which was attended by Director of Sport Neil Kumar and NAMILCO Officials, Kumar complimented the organisers and sponsors for bringing off a successful tournament that was well received by the fans and teams. He also complimented the media for their coverage of the event.
Mr. Bert Sukhai in his remarks also complimented Fruta Conquerors for another successful tournament while stating his company’s continued commitment.

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