Defending champions Old Fort ‘A’ got off to a flying start when they steamrolled Western Dragons 11-8 on the opening night Monday in the Noble House sponsored Goals Galore handicap Indoor hockey tournament at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Old Fort made up a five-goal handicap deficit in short time before pulling off the 11-8 win.
National strikers Aderemi Simon and Jason DeSantos registered four goals each while Chris Low-Koan added a double and Dwight Sullivan a lone strike all for winners.
The Carib Degenerates almost pulled off an upset win over Georgetown Cricket Club ‘A’ but the younger, fitter Bourda side prevailed 13-9 after Timothy Jonas had sent the Degenerates side into the lead in the 4th minute to extend the 7-0 handicap for the Degenerates by one more.
GCC eventually found their footing in the 13th minute and never looked back as Orland Semple topped the night’s scorers by pouring in seven goals while Kevin Spencer and Devin Hooper added three each to pull off the win. Jonas also scored his team’s second goal in the 27th minute.
Newcomers Old Fort ‘B’ men and Hikers ‘B’ ladies both making their debuts saw the Old Fort side recording a 7-4 victory.
In keeping with the tournament’s handicap rule, Old Fort began the game with 2 goals while Hikers started with 4 to their name.
Despite the handicap, Old Fort proved too fast for the young Hikers ladies pulling off the win.
The Hikers ladies ‘A’ side suffered a similar fate when they matched up against the Flora GCC Tigers in the same second division pool. While the teams started dead even at zero apiece, GCC Captain Sonia Jardine stamped her authority on the game by driving home a double, both in the first half.
In the other second division pool, the Hikers ‘B’ men outgunned Western Dragons ‘B’ to pull off a 5-1 win.
Hikers enjoyed a two-goal advantage at the beginning of the game and Michael Harding, Akeem Thompson and Rayon Brandsford added one each to carry their tally to 5 in comparison to the lone goal for the Dragons scored by Donwes Austin.
GCC ‘B’ clashed with the Hikers’ `A’ in the opening match of the first division competition later in the evening with the Bourda boys enjoying a two-goal handicap, beginning on +3 to the Hikers +1.
While the junior GCC men could be praised for their effort, the quality of the Hikers game was evident as they tightened the noose as the game progressed to pull off the 9-6 win.
Robert France and midfield maestro Jerry Bell were the top scorers for the Hikers, each with a hat-trick while Alex Gouveia and Devin Munroe added one each.
Shaka Gill, Philip Fernandes and Andrew Xavier were the scorers for GCC.
Matches continue this evening from 17:30 hours with defending second division champions the Flora GCC Spartans taking on the Western Dragons ‘B’ in the opening encounter.
