Fruta Conquerors in come-from-behind win

Second half strikes from Jahaal Greaves and Jeremy Garrett propelled Fruta Conquerors to their 11th win in the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Stag Beer Elite League after they defeated fierce rival Pele FC 2-1 in their final group fixture on Saturday.

With the score  1-0 in favour of Pele at the Leonora Sports Facility, Greaves grabbed the equaliser in the 71st minute as he unleashed a right foot strike from outside the box which sailed over the goalkeeper and settled into the back of the net.

The come-from-behind win was then sealed two minutes later in sublime fashion as Garrett scored, rifling a powerful right foot free-kick from the left side of the field into the right corner of the net.

Prior to the dramatic comeback, Julian Joseph handed Pele the early lead in the 30th minute, lobbing the ball from outside the penalty box, over the custodian and into the back of the goal.

With the win Fruta Conquerors remain in second position on 34 points while Pele occupies fourth position on 17 points. Both teams have qualified for the event’s knockout round.

Meanwhile, Georgetown Football Club (GFC) secured their first win of the event, squeaking past the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) by a 2-1 margin. Forwards Kenneth Oparaemetuche and Kieron Solomon scored in the 74th and 75th minutes respectively.

On target in the loss was Olvis Mitchell in the 63rd minute. With the outcome, GFC remain in the cellar position on five points while GDF is  in fifth position on 17 points.

The championship will now move to the knockout section as the top four finishers will battle it out for the title. That section is the slated to commence later in the month.

Winner of the League Finale round will pocket $4,000,000 while the second, third and fourth place teams will collect $2,000,000, $1,000,000 and $500,000 respectively. Similarly, the point’s leader prior to the knockout stage will pocket an additional $1,000,000.

The season champion will then be crowned when the winner of the League Genesis and League Finale respectively faceoff in a single matchup. That winner will then earn an automatic berth at the CFU level.

If the winner of the League Genesis and League Finale rounds are the same team, they will earn the automatic CFU spot, with the second berth going to the team with the most accumulated points in both rounds non-inclusive of the eventual season champion.

Final Points Standings
Team                              GP     W     L    D    GF    GA    GD    Pts
Slingerz (Q)                    14      13     0     1      43     8      +35   40
Fruta Conquerors (q)       14       11    2      1     34      22    +12   34
Alpha United  (q)            14        9     2      3     35      11    +24   30
Pele (q)                          14        5     7      2     15      19      -4    17
GDF                              14        5     7      2     23       29    -6     17
Buxton United                14       3      9      2    12       23    -11    11
Monedderlust                 14       1     10     3     12       37    -25    6
GFC                              14       1     11     2     10       35     -25    5
Key
(Q)-Points Winner/Knockout Qualifier
(q)-Knockout Qualifier