‘ Holy Grail’

By Rawle Toney

The final of the 19th Kashif and Shanghai football tournament on New Year’s Day which has at stake for the winning team one million dollars and a trophy  will be between Pele and Sunburst Camptown.

Gregory “Jackie Chan” Richardson, left, and Gerald Whittington – Pele goal scorers.

On Sunday night at the Providence National Stadium, both teams scored convincing wins and will now battle for soccer’s ‘Holy Grail,’ the trophy which is the emblem of supremacy among club teams in Guyana on this occasion.

Sunburst Camptown was the more stirring win as they sent five-time champions Bakewell Topp XX packing from the tournament with a 2-0 win.

The other semi-final was nothing short of a rout as Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson laid a strong claim to being the best striker around with a double on the way to his team’s 3-0 whipping of the Guyana Defence Force.

Devon Dummett, left, and Lance Rawlston – Camptwon goal scorers

Soccer fans and the organizers were robbed of the crowd pulling Linden/Georgetown finale by Camptown’s central defender Devon Dummet who scored as early as the eighth minute and Lance Rawlston, whose 73rd minute strike effectively put paid to Topp XX’s hopes.

They might have been the most successful team in the tournament’s history but Topp XX’s performance against Sunburst Camptown never lived up to expectations.

In Guyanese parlance Topp XX failed to “turn-up.”

From the onset it was evident that the “Juices” team wanted it more judging from their body language.

National striker Nigel “Powers” Codrington was imperious, orchestrating all the plays on the field.

Sunburst Camptown gained a foothold on the game when Topp XX’s defender Ruel Williams tackled a striker at the top of 18-yard box referee and Roy Mc Arthur blew for a foul.

Codrington took the free kick and his shot was punched away by Topp XX’s goalkeeper Richard Reynolds diving full stretch to his right.

Codrington  took the resulting corner and the ball was headed in by Dummett.

This was a severe blow for Topp XX so early in the game and they struggled in their attempts to equalize.

National striker Collie Hercules, who is usually the ‘go to’ man for the club, was closely marked by the Camptown defence spearheaded by captain Orlando Gilgeous.

The first half ended 1-0 in Camptown’s favour.

The second period would see the Linden side  playing even worse than they did in the first half.

With their creative “juices’ flowing, Sunbusrt Camptown were all over their opponents  with Telson McKennon and Troy “Bugsy” Prescod producing some impressive plays albeit unsuccessfully.

As the clock ticked away Topp XX tried everything including sending almost everyone up front.

But this left them open to Camptown’s counter attacks and Rawlston would ‘seal the deal’ for his side.

After receiving a pass from Codrington, Rawlston turned with the ball between three defenders and deftly placed the ball past Reynolds for his first goal of the tournament.

The second game was the `Jackie Chan’ show as Richardson is called.

Richardson,  who is enjoying a fruitful year, netted in the 11th and 69th minutes while fellow striker Gerald Whittington added a 21 minute strike as Pele marched past the soldiers with consummate ease.

Pele, who knocked out defending champions Alpha United on Christmas Day, looked even better this time around and the army men had no counter to Richardson’s physical skills.

From the inception the striker began to mesmerize the crowd with some fancy foot work.

Then it was the defence’s turn and receiving a gem of a pass from Whittington, Richardson dribbled two defenders before easily stroking the ball into the back of the net.

The army, however, did have their chances the closest being when Stellon David’s shot was cleared off the line by Travis “Zorro” Grant.

Whittington, who was very busy upfront, was rewarded with a goal for his hard work.

National captain Charles Pollard was his normal self at the back taking charge of the game.

But the night belonged to Richardson as he completed his double in style once again dribbling the ball past the defenders as if they didn’t exist.

So it’s Camptown versus Pele on January 1, 2009.

Who will take home the million dollar first prize? That’s a question which will be answered on that day.