Pele FC edged Flamingo FC by a 1-0 score line when the second round of the Stag Beer sponsored Georgetown Football Association (GFA) first division league started at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground on Wednesday.
Okeene Fraser opened the scoring for the winners with a 19th minute right-footed shot into the back of the net, from the right side of the penalty area.
Flamingo almost levelled the score line in the 47th minute through a Trevon Thomas right-footed attempt from the centre of the field, which sailed barely wide of the top right-hand corner of the net.
Pele almost doubled their lead in the 56th minute when Keoma Gravesande lashed his 26-yard right-footed effort just wide of the right-hand side of the goal, after collecting the ball in the centre of the field.
The second goal also evaded Pele when a right-footed Fraser strike from the centre of the penalty box was denied by the opposing keeper in the 67th minute.
Calvin Shepherd was then denied in the 73rd minute when his left-footed strike from the right side of the 18-yard box was parried acrobatically to safety around the left upright by the Flamingo custodian.
Pele should have doubled their advantage in the 82nd minute but goal-scorer Fraser squandered a golden opportunity. Lurking within the centre of the six-yard area unchallenged, Fraser upon collecting a left-sided pass, thumped his right-footed strike high over the crossbar.
In an invited comment, Rawle Jones, coach of the winning side, said the team fell shy of expectations. “The team haven’t really played to full expectation but due to the quality of the other team we know we would have come out winning…We didn’t have the full intensity like when we had to prepare to play Conquerors and Camptown. We had to interchange the team because we were missing a few players and push the captain higher up the field.”
Jones said, “We also threw away a lot of goals and that is another little thing we did not get to execute. Otherwise than that every other thing was reasonable and I accept the three points to stay in the lead and will prepare for the Wednesday’s game.”
