As a night of scintillating football came to an end on Sunday evening, the Guyana Police Force FC and Pouderoyen FC have taken up the top two positions in the Limacol knockout football tournament and are now waiting on their chance to have their moment of glory.
With the aim of getting into Friday’s final, the four remaining teams went into Sunday evening’s quarter final looking to win their most important game of the tournament thus far. The atmosphere at the Ministry of Education ground was electric with patrons flooding in to encourage and cheer on their community teams and favourite players.
The first scheduled encounter saw a repeat of their first group game as Pouderoyen matched skills with Santos FC. In the aforementioned group game, Santos had claimed the victory but in the semifinal Pouderoyen were very determined to have the tables turned.
Looking to be the first one with one on the scorecard, both teams hunted the goal desperately but the hunt went on for the entirety of the first half as neither side was able to penetrate their opponents’ goal. As such, the first half went quietly before Pouderoyen’s Amaniki Buntin found the back of the net in the 81st minute. In an instance, Santos knew they had to do whatever it took to capitalise on the nine remaining minutes. Try as they may, it was too late for Santos to make a reply as they exited the competition with heads bent low.
The second semifinal game of the night saw Police and an equally determined Riddim Squad facing off for the last remaining spot. The energetic Riddim squad were in complete control of the game for the first half but were unable to capitalise on their uncanny possession, squandering every goal opportunity afforded to them. In this situation, credit could be given to the Police defenders who often assisted the goalkeeper. On the other hand, Police were having troubles of their own, not seeming to find their usual rhythm. However, the law officers bounced back in the second half and played much better football as they managed to increase their ball possession.
Anthio Wallace became the hero of the night as he eased one into the goal in the 55th minute, allowing his team to rest easy for a while. But Wallace’s goal quickly became the only one in the match as Riddim Squad continued to miss the target.
The final match of the season is expected to be a fiery clash and will go down on Friday October 5. With both Police and Pouderoyen on a winning streak, their first and last encounter is sure to be a thriller. The third place playoff between Santos and Riddim Squad will be played at the same venue, the Ministry of Education Ground Carifesta Avenue, starting at 19:00hrs.
