Football bosses Lumumba, Gilhuys predict all out war

Presidents of Alpha United and BK International Western Tigers, Odinga Lumumba and Gordon Gilhuys respectively, say that tonight’s clash in the final of the 20th Kashif and Shanghai football tournament, is going to be nothing short of an all-out war.

Gordon Gilhuys

The two football bosses were also confident of taking home the $1M first prize.

Lumumba told Stabroek Sport yesterday that he believed that Western Tigers could not last 90 minutes against his side.

Gilhuys, on the other hand, told this newspaper that there was no way Alpha United could test his team.

With that said football fans can expect the Guyana National Stadium to be transformed into a combat zone.

Coming into tonight’s final, both sides have been dominant in their matches but in the semi-finals, they some how fluttered under the bright lights before coming out victorious.

Alpha won 3-2 on penalty kicks against Sunburst Camptown while Western Tigers had a 4-1 win over champions Pele.

“We know exactly what we have to do against Alpha which is a very good team, don’t get me wrong, but tomorrow (tonight) there is no way they can stop us, our game is way above them so, they should be no problem for us to dispose them,” Gilhuys said.

Odinga Lumumba

Against Pele, Western Tigers played a more defensive game while their usual lethal striker Devon Millington was kept warm all night, but this Gilhuys was not an area of concern even though Alpha has a relatively strong back four.

“You know, Pele has a very good defence and we stopped scoring because we held the ball too much so it was known to the people up front that they have to push off the ball but while Alpha has a good defence yes, still, they can’t hold us, so expect nothing but a win from Western Tigers tomorrow,” the former magistrate Gilhuys said.

Lumumba was his usual forthright self.

“Which Western Tigers team beating Alpha United?” Lumumba asked during the interview with Stabroek Sport.

In the match with Camptown, Alpha’s strikers failed to deliver even though they had more than enough chances on goal.

“Well we simply didn’t score that’s all. I’m not saying that we didn’t have chances, but I’m saying we didn’t score. Is not every game you will score, but I know for a fact that no Western Tigers team ain’t beating me – never. Don’t judge my team because we didn’t score, just watch tomorrow,” Lumumba said.

National captain Howard ‘The Dapper’ Lowe will spearhead a strong Alpha United defensive line which is yet to be troubled. His support at the back will come from Kelvin Smith, Abassi McPherson and Kelvin ‘Yellow’ McKenzie.

In the middle, Alpha will have the services of Shawn Bishop, Philbert Moffat, Quincy Madramootoo and Armstrong while up front, Dwight Peters, Edwards, Andrew Murray jr. and Edison Gomes can take care of business once they can find their footing.

The night’s opening encounter will see Pele coming up against the same team they defeated 1-0 in last year’s final Sunburst Camptown from 6:00 pm.

Given the fact that both teams had fallen dramatically in their semi-finals, they are expected to come out and play hard in an attempt to redeem themselves.