Defending Diamond Mineral Water men’s Indoor champions Hikers continued their preparation for the upcoming international Festival by securing a place in the GT&T National Indoor final billed for tomorrow at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
They scored their second win in as many nights against Old Fort, a 5-2 victory, to continue their unbeaten run.
GCC ‘A’ also clawed their way back into contention with their second big win over their `B’ team this time by 7-2 score.
Hikers ‘B’ also enjoyed success with a 6-5 win over the Carib Degenerates, while Hikers Under-19 side brushed aside Old Fort 6-3 in the other match played Thursday evening.
Jerazeno Bell continued his fine display as he led the Hikers ‘A’ against Old Fort ‘A’ in the feature match of the evening.
Old Fort took the lead in the ninth minute through some silky stick-work by Jason DeSantos.
But Bell replied with one of his usual well-placed penalty corner flicks five minutes later.
Bell resumed the scoring in the second half in similar fashion to put the Hikers up by one and Robert France slipped in a goal of his own in the 34th minute to give the Hikers a 3-1 lead.
While DeSantos pulled one back for Old Fort two minutes before the end, their all-out attack to draw even came at a heavy price as the Hikers slammed home two more goals in the closing minutes from Randy Hope and a second by France to give the Hikers a 5-2 victory.
In the other men’s A division matchup, GCC ‘B’ fell victim to their ‘A’ team counterparts for the second time in as many nights.
The ‘B’ team was off to a blistering start this time around, going up by two goals in the opening five minutes through two penalty corners by marksman Shaka Gill.
The patient ‘A’ team however, never seemed to lose composure and controlled the rest of the game with relative ease as they cruised to a 7-2 victory.
Leading goalscorer of the competition Dwayne Scott added a hat-trick to his name for GCC ‘A’ while Orland Semple scored a double.
Kevin Spencer and Devin Hooper chipped in with one each.
The Hikers ‘B’ division players signalled strong intentions to wrest the division title as they defeated the highly favoured Degenerates 6-5.
Randy Hope was on fire with a helmet trick for the Hikers while Robert France added a double.
Rawl Davson led a credible effort by the Degenerates with a double while James Mentore, Tristan Gomes and Brian Asregado each netted one.
The GCC Spartans got the better of ladies tournament leaders, the GCC Tigers when the two teams met earlier in the evening.
The Spartans may have surprised all by amassing a 2-0 lead early in the second half after a zero-zero first half.
Dominique deGroot and Captain Trisha Woodroffe were on target again for the Spartans while Tiffany Solomon managed to salvage a goal for the Tigers 3 minutes from full time.
The Hikers under-19 easily dispatched their Old Fort junior counterparts by 6-3 in the due between the pool leaders.
Aroydy Branford poured in a hat-trick for the Hikers while teammate Leon Bacchus scored a double. Ryan Primo netted the other goal.
Shamar Pemberton, Kurt Thomas and Clarence Edwards each scored a goal in Old Fort’s losing effort.
The Hikers lead the men’s A division pool with 12 points, followed by Old Fort and GCC ‘A’ each with six points while the Western Dragons and the Hikers share the lead in the `B’ division each with six points. The GCC Tigers hold onto the lead in the ladies pool with six points while the GCC Spartans follow with four and the Hikers with one. The under-19 division sees the Hikers on top with six points followed by Old Fort on three.
The final round of preliminary matches will be played off this evening while the finals in all the divisions will be contested tomorrow at the Sports Hall.
