Following their final night of round-robin games, which produced two absolute shockers, the Limacol Knockout Football tournament has reached the pinnacle of competitive playing, as players are now preparing to enter into the tenser quarterfinal round.
In the last round of play, on Saturday evening, Group ‘A’ action saw Mahaica Determinators and Northern Rangers meeting in what would be a crucial match for the latter team. Having already won two out of two matches, the young Mahaica Determinators team were sitting in a cozy position to move on to the qualifying round. However, Northern Rangers, with only one win, would have benefited well from the second.
As such, the experienced Northern Rangers played all their trump cards on Saturday with the intent to advance to the final round. As fate would have it, the match-up was indeed intense, with both teams unable to penetrate the opposing goal.
Frustration soon took over, which resulted in stray kicks and off-mark shots. After a quite uneventful period, the Mahaica Determinators, fuelled by the cheers and shouts from the crowd, found their winning goal. It came off of Dellon Charles’s boot in the 75th minute to seal a clean streak for the East Coast team and purchase Northern Rangers’ ticket home.
Another deciding matchup came up next, with Campton challenging Buxton Stars. Buxton had gotten off to a shaky start in the competition, losing their first matchup, but returning to dominate the second. On the contrary, Campton had begun in the winning fate.
They knew they would have to work hard to surpass Campton’s experience, but Buxton were set on securing their quarterfinal spot. Similarly to the first half in the previous match, spectators were treated to thrills as a result of near misses, but that was soon to end.
The second half began in the best way possible for Buxton — goal from Kenaz DeCambra in the 46th minute. The encouraging fans were treated to another goal from Buxton’s Shamar Scott in the 85th minute. Knowing that time was no longer on their side, Campton seemed to immediately give up on their quarterfinal hopes.
The quarterfinal action will get underway at the Ministry of Education Ground on Carifesta Avenue on Tuesday, September 25, with Riddim Squad and Beacons FC sparring in the first encounter. Police and Georgetown Football Club (GFC) will play to decide their fate right after.
The competition will rest until Thursday, September 27, when the Mahaica Determinators will face off with Pouderoyen. Later on, Santos FC and Buxton Stars will take to the field for their shot at the semis.
The semifinal of the Limacol Knockout Football tournament 2018 will go down on Sunday, September 30, whilst the final is scheduled for Friday, October 5. The competition is being sponsored by the New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company (GPC) under their Limacol brand. The winner of this year’s competition will walk away with $600,000.
