When two gladiators clash one must fall.
That was the case between Hikers and Old Fort senior teams who were unbeaten until their clash Wednesday evening in the GT&T National Indoor hockey championships at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Hikers came out victorious 3-1 in the feature match of the evening while GCC ‘A’ outclassed their ‘B’ team counterparts 9 – 5 in the other ‘A’ division matchup.
West Demerara’s Western Dragons was also in winners row dispatching Old Fort ‘B’ 4-2 in the men’s `B’ division encounter.
In the lone ladies fixture, the Hikers drew 2-2 with the GCC Spartans while the under-19 boys of the same clubs, resulted in a 5-3 win for the Hikers.
Hikers drew first blood in the 13th minute when Jerazeno Bell converted a penalty stroke and then two minute later powered home his second goal two minutes later.
Old Fort’s Aderemi Simon produced the lone his team’s lone goal before the end of the first half.
The second half saw the majority of possession belonging to the Hikers as they seized control of the match but could only muster one more goal through Shane Samuels in the 22nd minute.
GCC ‘A’ maintained the respect of their junior counterparts with a 9-5 drubbing giving the ‘A’ side its first win of the competition.
Devin Hooper topped the scoreboard with a hat-trick for GCC ‘A’ while teammates Kevin Spencer, Alan Fernandes and Dwayne Scott each added doubles.
Leonard George and Stuart Gonsalves scored two goals each for the `B’ side and Shaka Gill added one.
The Western Dragons men cruised to a comfortable victory over Old Fort ‘B’ 4-2 placing them on top of the points table in the men’s `B’ division.
Deon Carew scored a double for the Dragons while Trason Corbin and Deon Brandford netted a goal each.
Jason DeSantos and Michael Hawke were the goal scorers for Old Fort.
The ladies matchup of the evening saw the Hikers coming from behind once again to even the score against GCC Spartans .
Dominique DeGroot was first onto the score sheet with a field goal just two minutes into the game while Trisha Woodroffe added GCC’s second goal from a 16th minute penalty corner.
Just when all seemed lost for the Hikers, national striker Cora Towler tied the scores with goals in the 27th and 28th minutes from a penalty corner and the field respectively.
Favourites in the boys’ U-19 competition, the Hikers, came from behind to pull off a win against GCC in the division’s lone fixture.
While GCC’s team-leaders Stephen Xavier, with two goals and Eric Hing with one made a gallant effort, the all-round firepower for the Hikers was too much to handle as they chalked up five goals of their own through Aroydy Branford, Ryan Primo, Andrew Stewart, Michael Harding and Leon Bacchus. At the end of the men’s `A’ division first round, Hikers lead the table with nine points, Old Fort sits second with six, GCC ’A’ follows with three points and GCC ‘B’ remain without a point. The `B’ division leaders are Western Dragons with six points followed by the Hikers on three points while the Degenerates and Old Fort share the cellar.
The ladies division leaders are GCC Tigers with six points followed by the Hikers and Spartans with one point each.
In the U-19 tournament, Hikers and Old Fort share the top position with three points each while GCC is yet to score.
Five more matches are carded for this evening at the same venue.
