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GTT / Limacol Round Robin / KO Football Tournament…Pompey’s stunner dent Topp XX hopes of reaching final
– Milerock shock Winners Connection
Dreadlocked Winston Pompey’s stunning piece of mastery in the 55th minute of play dented the hopes of Topp XX making it an all Linden final after they succumbed to Victoria Kings by a 1-0 margin in semi-final action of the GTT / Limacol Round Robin / Knockout Football Tournament, at the Victoria Community Centre ground, East Coast Demerara.
Winston Pompey
In the first semi-final, an all-Linden clash, underdogs Milerock shocked the highly favoured Winners Connection 2-0 thanks to goals from the prolific Clarence Huggins in the 67th and Troy Lewis in the 85th to set up a date with Victoria Kings.
Appearing in what was rightly referred to as the feature of the double header, the large turnout of fans in support of the home team Victoria Kings waited patiently as they saw their pride and joy stand toe to toe against a team that they had never beaten before.
The first half saw both teams miss clear opportunities to take the lead with none dominating the other as the half time whistle sounded.
After the resumption, Kings orchestrated a few threatening incursions into Topp XX’s goal area but solid defending combined with equally impressive goalkeeping erased their efforts.
It was clear that the hosts were enjoying the better of the possession and urged on by their supporters they raised the tempo and the experienced Pompey, who has been the star of the Kings performances to date executed a piece of mastery that perhaps rivaled any goal seen in the competition so far.
It came from a cross delivered from the left side and he raced through the centre, crested it skillfully past an advancing defender, before volleying past a transfixed Topp XX net stopper to evoke euphoric celebrations among the team’s supporters who invaded the playing area in numbers.
(From left)- Troy Lewis and Clarence Huggins pose for a photo op following their win against Winners Connection on Friday night at the Victoria Community Centre ground.
Sensing the kill, the Kings continued to attack with intent as Pompey and company kept the Topp XX backline busy, while the visitors tried to temper the storm.
The wily veteran Collie Hercules pushed himself upfront in an attempt to conjure up something magical, but the Kings defence kept him outside the danger area.
With nothing to lose, Topp XX surged forward with menace, exposing their goal in an effort to gain the equalizer, but time after time their buildups were snuffed out by a disciplined Kings backline and it remained that way until Referee Wayne Griffith sounded the final whistle to send Kings into the final.
In the opening game, the taller and stronger Winners Connection started off in blitzkrieg fashion and had a goal disallowed wrongfully since it was deemed that the ball had landed outside the goal, hitting the side netting much to the dismay of the Connection players and staff.
The half came with no goals scored and it meant that the final period would be the deciding factor and it was as Huggins, who was tormenting his adversary on the right flank turned inside to lob the ball over the advancing goalkeeper’s head who watched it take several bounces, before ending over the goalline.
Winners Connection simply could not duplicate their previous commanding performances and suffered another setback five minutes from full time when Lewis beat the goalkeeper from close range to seal the deal and a spot for his team in the final which will be played next Sunday, at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden.
The winning team will take home $500,000, runner-up $250,000, 3rd place $125,000 and 4th place $75,000.
Among the other sponsors are Igloo Ice-Cream and the National Sports Commission.
In the night’s full results:
Game-1
Winners Connection-0 vs Milerock-2
Clarence Huggins-67th
roy Lewis-85th
Game-2
Victoria Kings-1 vs Topp XX-0
Winston Pompey-55th
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