Traditional giant Pouderoyen grounded the Eagles by a 4-1 score-line to seal their final’s berth in the West Demerara Football Association Pre-Season Championship at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.
Dwayne St. Kitts opened the scoring for Pouderoyen in the 17th minute from the penalty spot after Kenneth Opara was fouled inside the 18-yard area. St. Kitts was clinical from a distance as he rifled his effort down the centre of the net.
Telbert Baptiste equalised for the Eagles 16 minutes onward, latching onto a defensive from an error from Marvin Josiah before lashing his effort into the back of the net from inside the 18-yard box. The score remained unchanged heading into the halftime interval.
However, three unanswered goals in the second stanza secured the outcome for Pouderoyen. Recent recruit Kevin Duke found the back of the net in the 53rd minute, curling the ball from inside the penalty box into the right side of the goal after the ball fell into his path after an initial strike was blocked by an Eagles defender.
Matthew Chidume then got into the scoring act in the 66th minute to push the score to 3-1, slotting into the bottom right corner of the net after receiving a squared pass from Stephon Jupiter.
The outcome was then sealed in the 78th minute, as St. Kitts completed his double, latching onto a headed pass from Chidume before slotting past the advancing goalkeeper into the left corner from inside the penalty area.
With the win, Pouderoyen will now oppose Crane Rovers in the final. Travis Bess, Head Coach of Pouderoyen, said in a post-match comment, “This tournament is the first of its kind in West Demerara since I have been around. I think it’s a good initiative by the association. Returning to Pouderoyen after a one-year absence, the team would have acquired new players such as Kevin and Keon Duke, who are originally from Uitvlugt, as well as Casper Evans. Stephon Jupiter and Donte McAulay also returned after a one-year absence. There are also Ezequiel Flatts. With the acquired players, the team has improved its football standard, but we are not going to underestimate anyone and focus on our main objective, which is to win the West Demerara League.”
He further said, “As the matches go by, the team’s performance has improved, but we have a long way to go for what we want to achieve. It will be a good final; it’s the first time Crane Rovers will be in a final, and it will be a good game because the teams have a good rivalry and they are formidable. More so, they have former Pouderoyen players in their lineup, which will make it very interesting.”
Meanwhile, Pele defeated the Uprising of West Demerara 3-1 in an earlier intra-association friendly encounter.
Tyrill Henry recorded a double for the Georgetown unit, while Akon DeSantos netted once. On target in the loss was Orwin Wright.
Complete Results
Game-1
Pouderoyen-4 vs. Eagles-1
Pouderoyen scorers
Dwayne St. Kitts-17th and 78th
Kevin Duke-56th
Matthew Chidume-66th
Eagles scorer
Telbert Baptiste-33rd
