Buxton United, Den Amstel to meet in Super16 final
Buxton United will tackle Den Amstel in the Guyana Football Federation [GFF] ‘Stag Beer Super 16 final following unlikely semi-final wins over Fruta Conquerors and Western Tigers respectively on Friday.
Staged in front of their large home support at the Buxton Community Centre ground, the Buxtonians upset highly touted Western Tigers by a 2-1 score line in the feature semi-final, following a 89th minute penalty conversion.
Locked 1-1 and seemed destined for extra time, Buxton United was presented with a penalty kick opportunity, after Raphael Edwards hacked down his opposing number inside the box.
Tasked with the responsibility from the mark, Shemar Fraser made no mistake as he calmly converted to send the crowd into a frenzy. Prior to the aforesaid conclusion, Dillon Wright broke the deadlock in favour of the home side in the 37thminute.
A moment of lapse by the backline lead to the aforesaid conversion, as a cross from a corner-kick, evaded the entire defense inside the six yard area, allowing the onrushing Wright to lash his effort into the net.
The lead proved to be brief, as Kelsey Benjamin restored parity to proceedings four minutes later. Cutting in from the right flank, Benjamin rifled a left foot shot into the far right corner.
Meanwhile, Den Amstel downed Elite League champion Fruta Conquerors by an identical score in the opening semi-final. Versatile attacker Jamal Harvey crafted a double for the West Demerara outfit to seal the win.
It was a fortuitous opener for Harvey in the 14th minute, as his curling free-kick from the top of the 18 yard area, inexplicably slipped through the grasp of the goalkeeper and settled into the back of the net.
The advantage quickly grew, as Harvey tallied his second six minutes later. There was nothing fortuitous about this conversion, as Harvey raced onto a through pass from Leo Lovell, before dribbling the final defender and finishing into the far corner.
This commanding lead was maintained heading into the halftime interval. The Tucville-based unit eventually recorded a consolation goal in the 85th through Eon Alleyne.
The nippy attacker latched onto a lobbed ball which sailed over the rearguard, before clinically finishing past the advancing goalkeeper during a one on one situation.
The venue for the January 1st finale is yet to be announced. The two losing semifinalists will match skills in the third place playoff.
Complete Results
Game-1 Den Amstel-2 vs Fruta Conquerors-1
Den Amstel Scorer Jamal Harvey-14th and 22nd
Fruta Scorer Eon Alleyne-85th
Game-2 Western Tigers-1 vs Buxton United-2
Buxton Scorers Dillon Wright-37th Shemar Fraser-89th Western Scorer Kelsey Benjamin-41st