It is inevitable that another Linden team will exit the 20th annual Kashif and Shanghai football tournament tonight simply because of the scheduling which has pitted Bakewell Top XX against Netrockers.

The two are the only remaining teams from the mining community left in the tournament and as they say in boxing”Somebody’s `O’ has got to go.”

The two sides will square off from 6pm at the Mackenzie Sports Complex Ground, Linden to see who will advance to the quarter-final round. Following that battle, Grove Hi Tech will clash with 2007-2008 champions and two-time finalist Alpha United in the feature showdown which kicks of at 8:30pm.

In the much anticipated Linden showdown, one thing is pellucidly clear to both teams- it will indeed be a tough encounter.
The team that will advance will carry the added burden of being tasked with the responsibility of bringing the coveted Kashif and Shanghai crown back to the mining town.

Bakewell Top XX are a relatively young side who possess a few experienced players such as Collie Hercules, Richard Reynolds and Kayode McKinnon.

Both teams have not played many tournaments in Linden this year and Netrockers will be competing with three loan players in Leon Clement, Nigel Price and Lloyd Gilbert whilst Top XX will be battling with their standard squad.

Coach of the Grove Hi Tech team which stunned Milerock (another Linden team) on the opening night, Halley Cossou, said that his team was a young and inexperienced side with nothing to lose and everything to play for going up against unarguably the best football team in the country, Alpha United.

“The team is young but we have a lot of enthusiasm so we are ready to roar. We looked back at our first game where we made mistakes and are working to correct them while also studying the opposition and knowing some of their strategies ahead of the game,” Cossou said.
He added that the team was not getting ahead of itself as the players will be taking it one game at a time.

He pointed out that the players have worked quite hard in preparing and qualifying for the tournament adding that while they have had a fair amount of game preparations.