GFF Elite League...GDF gain last-minute draw with Buxton United, Den Amstel beat Victoria Kings 2-1

GFF Elite League…GDF gain last-minute draw with Buxton United, Den Amstel beat Victoria Kings 2-1

Mar 20, 2018 Sports

Gideon Payne and Delon Lanferman scored a goal each for Den Amstel in their 2-1 win against Victoria Kings on Sunday night at the GDF ground.

By Sean Devers
Up until the last minute of full time a vastly improved Buxton United seemed heading to an upset 1-nil win against defending Champions Guyana Defence Force (GDF) before Amos Ramsay found the back of the net in the 90th minute as the GFF’s Elite League continued with a double header at the GDF ground on Sunday night.
In the feature game, GDF, third on the points table with 13 points behind West Tigers (16) and Fruta Conquerors (15), quickly found out that Buxton United were a vastly improved side based on their recent form coming into this game.
The East Coast side outplayed the fitter Soldiers with better organised passing and tight defence, while playing a more technical brand of football which seemed to catch the Army team off guard.
Denver Dennis opened Buxton’s account in the 32nd minute when he scored from a direct free kick and the Buxtonians had things their own way for most of the first half which ended with them leading 1-nil.
As the game progressed GDF upped the tempo and began to move forward a lot more than they did in the first stanza and as the time ticked away Buxton United strengthened their back line and seemed intent on protecting their one goal lead by playing out time.

Denver Dennis (left) and Amos Ramsay scored in the 1-1-draw between Buxton United and the GDF.

In desperate surges, the Soldiers made increasingly concerted raids on goal as valuable time was going to waste.
GDF peppered National U-21 Keeper, 21-year-old Goalie, Olandy Cromwell, who had an excellent night between the uprights.
GDF had their best chance to equalize when a free kick missed the ‘wall’ and was well saved by Cromwell who made about four or five brilliant saves in last three minutes of the match.
But as they say in Guyanese parlance, ‘pressure does buss pipe’ and Cromwell was finally beaten by Ramsay from close range in 90th minute to the relief of the GDF fans who would have been disappointed by Sunday’s performance from the reigning Champions. The draw moved GDF to 14 points.
In the evening’s opening game which ebbed and flowed with little to separate the performances of either team, West Demerara’s Den Amstel, enjoyed a slightly higher percentage of ball possession to beat Victoria Kings 2-1 after being 1-1 at half-time.
Watched by a fair size crowd with cold winds blowing across the ground from the Atlantic Ocean, the intensity was good in an evenly matched first period in which, after a nice build-up, Gideon Payne scored from inside the box in the 30th minute.
But 12 minutes later Aubrey Gibson caught Den Amstel napping with a counterattack at a time when the West Demerara unit were enjoying more possession, to score the equaliser after another good build-up.
In a game which was punctuated by plenty of counterattacks and transitions neither side managed to dominate and at half-time at a venue where the lights were not of the highest quality, it was Den Amstel 1, Victoria Kings 1.
The early part of the second half saw Victoria Kings showing more momentum and agai

A fair size crowd watched the doubleheader at the GDF ground on Sunday night.

nst the run of play Delon Lanferman fired in the winner in the 79th minute.

Victoria Kings best chance of making it 2-2 came when a powerful shot low down was tipped around the poles by custodian Jermaine Cumberbatch and when the final whistle was blown the game ended the team from the West side showing they were the best side on the night with a 2-1 win.