– Conquerors and GDF battle to stalemate
Pandemonium broke out at the Tucville Playfield between Alpha United, Pele and the referees as a goal scored by the tournament leaders, Alpha, which looked to be the decider, was protested by the opposition since they felt it was scored from a ‘dead ball’.
Discussions between the referees, players and club officials eventually led to the game being blown off by senior referee Roy McArthur and ruled as abandoned with both teams deadlocked at one goal each.
After Alpha’s Dwayne Jacobs (11th) and Pele’s Solomon Austin (23rd) scored, and just over 20 minutes were left in the final half of the second round match, Alpha won a corner kick on the right flank and scored the controversial goal.
Stabroek Sport understands that the ball hit the first post for the corner kick but it is unsure if it remained in play.
A few Pele players said the ball went out of play after it hit the post and made its way back onto the field where a Pele player picked up the ball to spot it for a goal kick.
However, the Alpha United team saw the ball remain in play and blasted it into the back of the net for the goal which would have given them the lead again.
McArthur, unsure of what transpired after Pele had complained, went to his assistant referee for help only to discover she was not in position to relay the play and help make a decision.
By now the match was halted and spectators and club officials ran onto the field to tell their side of the story.
There were only two options that could be made for the game to be continued, the play could either be regarded as a goal or Alpha would have won a penalty kick because of the Pele player handling the ball inside the 18-yard box.
Eventually, after the referees’ discussion the game was blown off as abandoned and will be replayed at a later date. Earlier, Fruta Conquerors and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) played to a goalless draw and gained one point each.
GDF, on 25 points, are matching points with Sunburst Camptown but will move up to second on goal difference while Conquerors remain fourth with 20 points.
