GT&T Indoor Hockey Championships...Old Fort brought to reality with a jolt by Pepsi Hikers

GT&T Indoor Hockey Championships…Old Fort brought to reality with a jolt by Pepsi Hikers

Nov 15, 2015 Sports

Pool leaders Old Fort were toppled from their pedestal through a loss to the determined Pepsi Hikers as the GT&T National Indoor Championships continued Friday evening at the National Gymnasium at Mandela

Old Fort’s Aderemi Simon tackles Jamarj Assanah of the Hikers.

Avenue. The loss, Old Fort’s first of the competition allowed GCC to slide into the lead from their victory over Phoenix. The GCC Tigers chose the right moment to produce their best form in destroying the previously unbeaten Panthers by 6-2 to take control of the ladies division. While Old Fort still maintains the top spot in the men’s second division competition. This division remains wide open as a number of key matches were scheduled for last evening.
Old Fort seemed headed for yet another dominant performance as they were first off the mark against the Pepsi Hikers through a Dwight Sullivan penalty corner goal 8 minutes into their feature match of the evening. While the Hikers threatened the Old Fort goal on several occasions for the remainder of the half, veteran goalkeeper Alan Newark rolled back the year to produce some outstanding reflex saves to keep his team competitive. The pace of the game finally caught up with Newark as he failed to react to a hard pass that was deflected into goal by Hikers Captain Robert France three minutes before the half. Old Fort’s John Abrahams would respond in the very next minute however to slam home a shot and give his team the 2-1 lead at half time.
The second half saw a shift in balance from the outset as a Shane Samuels penalty corner goal

Ascofu Simon challenged by the Hikers defence.

was followed by two more goals, all within the first five minutes of resumption, by France to give the Hikers a 4-2 lead. Aderemi Simon scored the final goal of the game through a penalty stroke four minutes from full time to pull Old Fort back within one but the Hikers would celebrate a 4-3 victory in the end.
In the other first division matches, GCC predictably outplayed Phoenix by 4-1 while the Panthers garnered the same winning score against Saints.
The ladies competition saw a fired up Kerensa Fernandes chalk up her first hat-trick of the competition to lead her side to a 6-2 beating of the Panthers. Ashley DeGroot added a pair while Captain Sonia Jardine scored a penalty corner to round out the Tigers six goal tally. Midfield dynamo Aliyah Gordon and veteran Ulrica Sutherland each scored one for the Panthers.
The Hikers ladies were in a productive mood against Old Fort Shooting Stars as they dominated the matchup with a 5-1 fulltime score. While ex-national Carol Caine managed to score one goal for Old Fort, the Hikers controlled the match, winning through goals by Nicole Eastman, Latacea Chung, Latoya Fordyce, Tekeisha Deleon and Marisha Rodrigues.
Phoenix surprised GCC with a 3-1 win in the men’s second division competition giving the Bourda boys their first loss of the competition. Old Fort meanwhile maintains their fine form with a 4-2 beating of the Hikers.
Going into the penultimate day of competition, the points standing are as follows:
Men’s First division
GCC – 11, Old Fort – 10, Pepsi Hikers – 7, Jaguars – 6, Pumas – 6, Phoenix – 3, Saints – 0
Men’s Second division
Old Fort – 12, Phoenix – 9, GCC – 9, Hikers – 6, Saints -3, Saints Stanislaus College – 0
Ladies division
GCC Tigers – 9, Panthers – 6, Hikers – 6, Under-21 – 3, Old Fort – 0
The four finals are set for today from 17:00hrs.