GT&T Indoor Hockey Championships

Nov 14, 2015 Sports

GCC, Old Fort serve-up exciting drawn encounter

GCC and Old Fort squared off in the feature matchup of the men’s first division

Old Fort’s Aderemi Simon executes a clean tackle against GCC’s Orland Semple.

competition as the GT&T National Indoor Championships continued Thursday evening at the National Gymnasium at Mandela Avenue. Both teams were undefeated and both seemed to be in top form based on their performances so far in the competition. GCC would once again be leaning on their national midfield standout and leading goal scorer thus far in the competition, Orland Semple, while Old Fort’s Aderemi ‘Dove’ Simon, a sure candidate for tournament MVP at this stage has been wreaking havoc against all opposition.
The high level of energy brought to the match was evident as both teams scrambled around the floor searching for every opportunity to gain an advantage. After a scoreless nine minutes, it was an unlikely counterattack by left back Dwight Sullivan that separated the teams with a diving finish to resounding applause.
Old Fort would add a second through Jason Clarke who made a nifty deflection from a penetrating pass by Aderemi Simon in the 12th minute. Although Old Fort would take a 2-0 lead into half time, GCC seemed composed and created several attempts during the half only to be denied by the fine goalkeeping of Andy Sampson.
Lady luck finally broke GCC’s way in the second half as veteran Dwayne Scott scored their opening goal eight minutes into the second half to decrease the Old Fort margin to 2-1. Less than a minute later, Kevin Spencer drew the match even at 2-2 by surprising goalkeeper Sampson with a quick rebound off his own shot from the right side. The match swung in GCC’s favour as Scott then fired in a bullet of a shot to give GCC its first lead of the match and eleven minutes remaining on the clock.
Tension built as the game saw several more chances miss the uprights by millimeters. With four minutes remaining in the match Dwight Sullivan would be the hero for Old Fort as a GCC goalkeeper clearance fell perfectly onto his stick and he made no mistake with the opportunity. After a keenly contested battle, both teams remained undefeated with the final score settling at 3-3.
The PEPSI Hikers being the third undefeated first division side at the beginning of the evening suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of the Pumas. With Pumas talisman Aroydy Branford scoring an early double and teammate Keon McKenzie adding one the Hikers would fail to meet the challenge. Captain Robert France managed to salvage a late goal for the Hikers but could not reverse the 3-1 outcome in favour of the Pumas.
The Jaguars rounded out the first division matches of the evening with a 3-2 defeat of newcomers Phoenix.
National under-21 striker Aliyah Gordon scored the lone goal in the evening’s ladies matchup to give her side its first victory at the expense of Old Fort.
The men’s second division competition saw pool leaders GCC and Old Fort face off with a different result from their first division counterparts. GCC’s Michael Craig and Trevon Smith were both on target to give their team a 2-0 victory. Saints managed a 4-2 victory over Saint Stanislaus College, while Phoenix upstaged the Hikers by 3-1 to round out the evening’s second division matches.
Going into the fifth day of competition, the points standing are as follows:
Men’s First division
Old Fort – 10, GCC – 8, Pumas – 6, Pepsi Hikers – 4, Phoenix – 3, Jaguars – 3, Saints – 0
Men’s Second division
Old Fort – 9, GCC – 9, Hikers – 6, Phoenix – 6, Saints -3, Saints Stanislaus College – 0
Ladies division
GCC Tigers – 6, Panthers – 6, Hikers – 3, Under-21 – 3, Old Fort – 0
The four finals are set for tomorrow from 17:00hrs.

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