Alpha ‘The Hammer’ United were crowned the inaugural champions of the Victoria Kings organized East Coast Football Reunion and are now $500,000 richer after defeating Fruta Conquerors  in the final on Sunday at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground.

Alpha United’s captain Howard Lowe receives the championship trophy from one of the tournament organizers (centre) as team mates and supporters share the moment.

Alpha flattened Fruta Conquerors in the feature match of the double header that ended 6 – 1 while the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) defeated Victoria Kings 4 – 2 on penalty kicks after being deadlocked 1 – 1 at regulation and extra time.

‘The Hammer’  justified their position as the country’s top team by playing sizzling football from the first whistle when they demonstrated their skills, technique, class, and fitness leading them to dominate every area in the 90 minutes.

However, Conquerors drew first blood when striker Jomo Hinds rocked the net with a powerful right foot shot after Alpha’s defender Kelvin Mackenzie made a defensive blunder in the 18-yard box.

Hinds’ goal was soon overshadowed by the opposition’s efforts as they equalized from a penalty shot through Howard Lowe in the 34th minute and then took the lead in the 41st minute when Edison Gomes pierced the uprights.

The second half saw Dwight Peters (54th), Quincy Madramootoo (60th), Andrew Murray (81st) and Shawn “Fatso” Bishop, who scored just before the regulation time whistle, taking the score line to 6 – 1. Fruta Conquerors whose body language was saying a lot had to settle for the runner-up prize of $200,000.

In the third place VK/GDF showdown, the game was played at a very hot pace as both teams created opportunities. The Kings defence worked hard to keep GDF at bay and they were rewarded when Pierre Joseph put Kings ahead in the 44th minute.

When the second half resumed GDF’s Sheik Kamal levelled the score in the 55th minute and it remained that way until the end of the 90 minutes and extra time.

Orin Elias and Aubrey Gibson missed their penalties  while Reuben Morris and Oral Lashley netted for Kings. Sheik Kamal, Marlon Benjamin, Carlos Marian all netted for the army while Rodwell Sandy missed his penalty.

GDF pocketed $100,000 and a trophy for winning the third place spot and the Kings earned $50,000 and a trophy for finishing  in fourth place.