Milerock and Botofago secured contrasting victories when the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) leg of the NAMILCO U17 championship commenced yesterday at the Wisburg Secondary School ground.
Milerock crushed newcomer Hilltop United 4-0. The rout commenced in the ninth minute compliments of a Rajan Ramdehol strike. The lead was quickly doubled through a Marcus Tudor effort.
The 2-0 lead remained unchanged heading into the halftime interval. Upon the resumption, two goals in the space of two minutes sealed the eventual score.
Joel Daw pushed the score to 3-0 via a 48th minute conversion, before Jafan Reynolds applied the final nail in the coffin with a 50th minute attempt.
In another fixture, Botofago downed Coomacka United 4-2 in the opening match. Botofago seized control of the encounter in the first half, recording three unanswered goals.
Cordell Samuels opened the scoring in the 11th minute. The lead ballooned in the 23rd minute compliments of an Adrian Samuels conversion. Botofago further strengthened their position before the conclusion of the first half when Tyrese David made his presence felt.
However the match proved to be a game of two halves, as Coomacka ignited a possible comeback with two goals in the space of one minute.
Javonte Lewis reduced the deficit as he etched his name on the scorer’s sheet in the 57th minute and Coomacka sent nerves racing in the Botofago camp when Jose Adams reduced the score to 3-2 moments later.
Nonetheless, Kareem Dizzeth extinguished any hopes of Coomacka completing a possible come-from-behind result, slamming his effort into the back of the net in the 60th minute.
The tournament resumes today at the same venue with another doubleheader. Amelia’s Ward Panthers will engage Topp XX at 13:00hrs, with Eagles tackling Hi-Stars from 15:00hrs.
All matches once deadlocked at the end of regulation time, will immediately progress to penalty kicks. The semifinal round will occur on the following weekend.
Due to the persistent rainfall affecting the mining town, the UDFA decided to stage the tournament utilizing a knockout format instead of its initial league formula.
This was done to ensure a representative from the association will feature in the National Playoffs.
