GT&T Indoor Hockey Championships…GCC survives penalty shootout against Hikers in rivetting men’s final

Oct 29, 2013 Sports

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– claims two more titles

Fans that supported the week long 2013 GT&T National Hockey Championships had witnessed a number of exciting matches throughout the period, but it is unlikely that they could have predicted such a rivetting final that GCC and Hikers produced to pull the curtains down on the tournament which ended on Sunday evening, at the National Gymnasium.
The two teams treated the fair-sized turnout to some breathtaking hockey that clearly suggested that the game is once again enjoying a breath of fresh air and moving in the right direction.

The combatants in the men’s final displayed such a high quality of skill and grit that it took a penalty shootout after regulation time ended 5-5 to determine which team will take the coveted title and bragging rights for the next year and in the end it was GCC that emerged from the slugfest with enough energy to engage in wild celebrations after netting both penalty attempts, while Hikers missed both of theirs.
Earlier, GCC Spartans upstaged their senior counterparts and defending champions the GCC Tigers 1-0 to secure the ladies trophies and the club would boast a treble as the GCC vets cruised to a 7-1 victory over the Hickers.
The Hikers Recruits easily retained their second division title with a dominating performance over Old Fort, hammering the 10-3 to round out the tournament.
In the First Division final, Hikers Captain and menacing striker Robert France carved his way through a packed GCC defense to blast home the match’s first goal six minutes into the men’s first division final.
The ensuing celebration was short-lived however as GCC’s dynamic duo of Kevin Spencer and Orland Semple answered in quick succession with a goal each, before Stephen Xavier added one of his own to give GCC a 3-1 half time lead.
Spectators were in for a dazzling display of high pace and skill however as the two sides produced a myriad of exciting chances with the score being managed only by outstanding goalkeeping from Eric Hing and Azad DeAbreu in their respective quarters.
Hikers overlapping right back Shane Samuels was the first to make his presence felt in the second half as he let go a terrific strike high into the GCC net two minutes after the resumption, Spencer restored confidence in the GCC side by notching his second of the night two minutes later.
Former national Captain Devin Munroe and France with his second of the night brought the crowd to its feet as they managed a goal a piece on the 28th and 29th minute to draw the scores even at 4-4.  Just as the momentum seemed to swing in the Hikers favour however, Spencer completed his hat-trick off a superb deceptive pass from Semple to nudge GCC ahead in the closing minutes.
The Hikers then made a risky tactical move that paid off as they pulled their goalkeeper from the game and replaced him with an extra field player.  The ramped up pressure produced a shot on goal for the Hikers which was parried by Hing in the GCC nets but Captain France was onto the rebound with lightning speed to drive his shot home for the final goal of the match which evened the score at 5-5.
The nervous supporters then had to endure the suspense of a penalty shootout to determine the 2013 GT&T champs.  Raphael DeGroot with a diving finish and then Orland Semple both managed to find the back of the net in the shootout while eventual competition MVP Eric Hing managed to do just enough to force Munroe and France of the Hikers to send their shots wide, giving GCC the victory.
The women’s final saw an evenly contested battle which saw an experienced Tigers piling on the pressure on the Spartans who had endured a tougher semi-final earlier in the day.  While strikers Kerensa Fernandes and Sonia Jardine produced some exciting hockey in the Spartans goal area, Briawna Gordon making her debut in goal, produced an outstanding performance to keep them scoreless.
Right backs Tricia Woodroffe for the Tigers and Gabriella Xavier for the Spartans both were key influences on the match and launched many dangerous attacks for their teams, but it was young Aliyah Gordon who would steal the show four minutes from full time.
Receiving a Samantha Fernandes pass from the right, Gordon exhibited sublime trickery to deceive the Tigers defense and goalkeeper Natalie Hing to slide home the match’s only goal and secure the victory for Spartans.
In the Veterans final, GCC produced their best performance in the competition as they seemed determined from the opening whistle to crush the Hickers.  Philip Fernandes was in his usual no-nonsense mood and chalked up a hatrick of goals within the first 6 minutes of play to give GCC a comfortable margin.
Fernandes added one more to his tally for a total of four goals, while Alan Fernandes added a double and Stephen Fernandes a single.  Devin Munroe managed a consolation goal in the second half for the Hickers to leave a final score of 7-1.
The Hikers Recruits exhibited why they are the defending champions in the men’s second division competition as they executed one of their typical game plans comprising of well-rehearsed movements and surgical passes to completely overwhelm Old Fort by 9-3.
Eventual MVP Jamarj Assanah amassed a 5-goal haul for the Hikers and Rayon Brandford added a double, while teammates Aroydy Brandford, Travon Younge and Michael Harding netted one each.  A Shaquille Thomas double and Mark Fraser single completed the Old Fort tally of three.
GT&T Public Relations Officers Ms. Allison Parker and Ms. Nadia DeAbreu were on hand to present the trophies and medals to the winning teams and individual awardees.  Following his clean sheet in the finals penalty shootout, GCC goalkeeper Eric Hing received the MVP for the men’s first division competition.
Sole finals goal scorer Aliyah Gordon received the accolade for the women’s competition while veteran top-scorer Philip Fernandes and dynamic midfielder Jamarj Assanah were selected for the veterans and men’s second division competitions respectively.

 

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