GFF/Stag Super 16 Knockout tourney Battle lines drawn from tomorrow @ GFC; defending champs GDF aiming to repeat

Dec 13, 2018 Sports

By Franklin Wilson

From tomorrow evening at the GFC ground, the former Mecca of the sport in Guyana will be seeking to reclaim some of that glory when it hosts the first day of the Guyana Football Federation / STAG Super 16 Knockout Championship which has at stake close to Five millions in cash and prizes on offer.
Defending champions, the Guyana Defence Force will be taking on the lads from Guyana’s biggest County, Essequibo Combined in feature action, while the curtain raiser features East Demerara’s Buxton United against Rivers View of Bartica from 18:00hrs.
This championship presents welcome high level entertainment for the fans in and around Guyana as it brings to the football square the best teams at the highest level, GFF Super League matching skills with some of the best clubs in GFF Members Associations, while in the case of Essequibo and Berbice, they have decided to combine their skills and hopefully they will be more potent in their quest for glory.

Flashback! Team GDF pose with the GFF Super-16 year end classic Championship trophy after defeating Grove Hi Tech.

Some upsets are likely as the more established teams sometimes tend to be complacent and take the lesser teams for granted as was the case in the 2017/18 championship when East Bank’s Grove Hi Tech downed some big guns the likes of Fruta Conquerors to emerge from the group of death and lost to the GDF in the final 2-0.
This year’s championship is anticipated to be keener as teams have been putting in the hard work to ensure that they put their best feet forward in order to be in the reckoning for the top prize of Two Million dollars.
The losing finalist is guaranteed One Million, while the winner of the third place match will collect $500,000; the top four clubs will also be awarded trophies and equipment as part of the prize packages.
GDF Head Coach Bilal Namtambu who guided his team to the last championship was very cautious in offering any comment but stated that their objective is to repeat as champions.
“However I’m sure that’s every team’s goal. So we’ll just have to wait and see. Our first game is against unknown opposition, so it’s our intention to play our football, which is possession, patience and speed.”
The GDF’s opponent tomorrow night, Essequibo Combined did cause some headaches for more established teams the last time they competed at the national level and this time around would be seeking to do the same.
Travis Bowen commented on behalf of the Cinderella County: “Our first game is the GDF which is an Elite team. But at the same time, this is football we going to play and they can have a bad day on any given day. We have nothing to lose, so we have to give it our best shot.”
Buxton United have been around for some years now and apart from winning the 2012/13 edition of the Kashif and Shanghai year-end championship have not really been as clinical as back then but as one of their leading tacticians said, they are always aiming to best their opponents and who knows what this competition might bring with it.

Rivers View FC – Bartica

Their opponent, Rivers View of Bartica emerged as the best in the association which is on a path of redemption on and off the field of play. Like Essequibo, Rivers View might be an unknown but the game is played on the day and they too will be an ambitious unit as they seek to topple Buxton.
Two potentially exciting matches are on the cards for the fans. Following tomorrow’s double header, Sunday will serve up another two games at the same venue; this time though, Fruta Conquerors will take on Berbice Combined in opening play at 18:00hrs with Western Tigers clashing with Police in the main attraction which will be a fierce tussle.
GDF: Enoch Carmichael, Delon Adams, Cedric Osborne, Aubrey Greene, Trevis Henry, Jerome Richardson, Shaun Arthur, Eusi Phillips, Delwin Fraser (Captain), Delroy Ferdinand, Keron Joseph, Darrel George, Delroy Fraser, Jeffery Perreira, Clifford Garraway, Abumchi Benjamin, Kenneth Oparaemetuche, Sherwyn Caesar, Amos Ramsey, Kenard Simon, Cargill Young, Jamal Campbell, Ryan Roberts.
Essequibo Combined: Xavier Fernandes, Christopher Belfield, Randy De Jonge, Andron Fernandes, Rederigo John, Wesley John, Vaughn Fredricks, Andy Atkinson, Rodwell Wilson, Bobby David, Miguel Roberio, Kevon Jones, Dexter Mendonca, Lindon Hackman, Tion Mendonca, Ridley, Williams, Sheldon Pitt, Travis Joyce, Gavin Juke, Sevon David, Nurvan Beaton, Daniel Grimmond, Odel Hubbard, Oswin Henry.
Buxton United: Darren Marks, Rayshawn Simon, Jason Cromwell, David Wilson, Kifamb Goodman, Kevin David Ronaldo Fredricks, Ralph Maffat, Maurice Barnes, Jeremiah Thorne, Denver Dennis, Dillon Wright, Toroni Semple, Hughe Michael-Phyll, Paul Kingston, Timothy Albert, Tyrone Harper, Shemar Fraser, Yumany Armstrong, Jamar Harrigon, Derrick Blair, Nixon Robertson, Denzil Junior, Adam Gonsalves.
Rivers View FC: Andel Norton, Aloysius Edwards, Anzel Edwards, Andrew Simmons, Aldrin Benjamin, Brian Joseph, Cleon Joris, Don Lamb, Dane McIntyre, Elton Thomas, Godfred Norton, George Mentis, Mark Richards, McQuain Smith, Omareo Lake, Raynel Frank, Shaquille Hopkinson, Traves Burnett, Kevin Reddy, Ronaldo Parris, Kevin Wailoo, Bert Tilbury.