Den Amstel and Young Achievers sealed their semi-final berths in the annual West Demerara Football Association (WDFA)/Josiah Memorial Championship on Wednesday at the Den Amstel ground. Den Amstel dismantled Stewartville 5-0, whilst Young Achievers recovered from one goal down to edge Eagles FC in a 3-2 thriller, as four goals were scored in the last ten minutes.
The Den Amstel/Stewartville contest was over before the conclusion of the first half, with the home side entering the halftime interval firmly in control with a 3-0 lead.
Delon Lanferman started the rout in the sixth minute, pouncing on a defensive error between the center-half and the goalkeeper, following a left side cross, before finishing into the net.
Lanferman made his presence felt again, two minutes later, slotting home a first time effort inside the centre of the box, after collecting a right side cross.
The scoreline ballooned once more in the 12th minute, as Kester Jacobs netted, unleashing a curling right foot freekick from the top of the penalty box, into the top left hand corner, giving the goalkeeper no chance.
Gideon Payne then took over the goal scoring burden in the second period, netting a brace in the space of two minutes. The first conversion occurred in the 60th minute, as he raced onto a through pass from the midfield, and finished into the left corner past the advancing custodian.
Payne notched his second in the 62nd minute, latching onto a poor goal-kick just outside the area, then hammering his effort into the net.
Meanwhile, Young Achievers led by a Lloyd Prince second half double, edged Eagles FC by a 3-2 scoreline to earn their berth in the final four. Prince found the back of the net in the 80th and 86th minute, aided by an own goal in the 85th minute to seal the win. For the loser, Marcus Williams and Chris Macey netted in the 60th and 84th minute, correspondingly.
The event which continues today at the same venue, features only teams from the West Demerara. At 18:00hrs, 2016 runner-up Pouderoyen will engage Golden Warriors, while defending champions Uitvlugt Warriors will lock horns with Wales United. Uitvlugt captured the title after edging Pouderoyen 5-4 on penalty kicks, after regulation and normal time had finished 1-1.
The semi-finals will be staged on May 14th.
