GFF/Stag Super 16 – Did someone say 2-1? Tale of the tape when Buxton Utd, Den Amstel slew Western Tigers and Fruta Conquerors

Dec 30, 2018 Sports

By Franklin Wilson

Buxton United and Den Amstel have earned the right to battle in the final of the Guyana Football Federation / Stag Super 16 2018/2019 Championship following identical 2-1 wins over

Buxton’s Shemar Fraser clears the ball in the first half in face of the challenge that was going to be posed by Western Tigers’ Kelsey Benjamin.

powerhouses, Western Tigers and 2018 Elite League Champions, Fruta Conquerors on Friday night last at the Buxton Community Center ground.
It was a night when the well known bible story of David vs Goliath was replayed for all to see, some enjoying whilst those on the receiving end were fuming at the sound of the final whistle.
Buxton United accounting for their second big wig, turning back the challenge of Western Tigers after having already beating the GDF 3-2. Friday night’s opening match saw West Demerara’s Den Amstel beating Fruta Conquerors 2-1 to set the tone for the night.
On a night when winds were blowing across the ground from a north/easterly direction and consistently so for both matches, the teams who scored first ended up winning, both coming with the winds behind their backs in the opening 45 minutes.
Buxton continued where they left off in the GDF game by taking the lead in the 37th minute, Dillon Wright finishing a well taken corner when he slotted past custodian Omar Jones at the far post.

Buxton United’s Ronaldo Fredericks (right) about to take on Western Tigers’ Cleon Forrester.

But that advantage did not last for long as incoherent work in the Buxton defensive third allowed the nippy Kelsey Benjamin to tap in the equalizer in the 41st minute to ensure that the Tigers were on even keel with the young Buxton side heading into the half time break.
The Western team, coming with the wind behind them in the second half would have fancied their chances given what they would have seen the ball doing when Buxton enjoyed that advantage.
However, that was not going to be the case as Buxton United used the conditions on their home ground to full advantage, mapping their passage to the championship match that would be contested on New Year’s Night at the GFC Ground.

Jamal Harvey being hoisted by a teammate just in front of the Conquerors bench following his second goal in the 22nd minute.

Just like the GDF encounter, Buxton took the lead then allowed their opponent to draw level but fired in the winning goal with just about a minute left on the clock. Again, it was 16 year-old Annandale Secondary School Captain Jamar Harrigon who took the charge to Western Tigers defence and was brought down in the area. Shemar Fraser buried the ensuing penalty in the 89th minute to tame the Tigers.
Den Amstel seized control of their clash with Conquerors from the first half of play and were comfortably ahead 2-0. Their star of the match, Jamal Harvey was flawless in banging in both goals past young goalie Leon Sealey-Yaw who started ahead of the more experienced Akel Clarke who replaced him in the 25th minute after both goals were already scored.
The first of Harvey’s double came via a beautifully executed free kick about 21 yards from the goal. The four man Conquerors wall and Sealey-Yaw could not deny

Shemar Fraser – Buxton United FC

Harvey whose shot was curled around the wall, the ball fell into the hands of the goalkeeper who eventually spilled it and watched it roll into the back of the nets, agonizingly so in the 14th

The gloomy look on the face of Fruta Conquerors Solomon Austin tells the story following the final whistle in their match against Den Amstel.

minute.
Eight minutes later, the match was virtually sealed by Den Amstel when Harvey rounded the Conquerors defenders to score again in the 22nd minute, underlining the West Demerara side’s dominance of proceedings.
They used the windy conditions smartly and would not have been total strangers to such conditions as their home ground is also a stone’s throw away from the Demerara River.
Conquerors’ leading scoring duo of Eon Alleyne and Domini Garnett were kept at bay by the Den Amstel back four which was led by Kevin Dundas with the midfield falling under the astute guidance of Kester Jacobs and Gideon Payne.
And even though Conquerors were able to pull one back in the 85th minute thanks to Eon Alleyne, the writing was already on the wall for the Tucville based side which will now have to battle in the third place match against Western Tigers, the winner collecting $500,000.
But the big shindig will be between Buxton United and Den Amstel where the winning team will walk away with Two Million Dollars and bragging rights for the next year, while the loser would earn One Million Dollars. Trophies and equipment will also be at stake.