Guyana players celebrating a goal. Brooklyn Soccer Life Images
Game report
Guyana overpowered Guinea 4-1 in the International FGSL's semifinal on Sunday afternoon at Old Boys and Girls high school.
Aboubacar put Guinea ahead of the game early in the second minute. But his goal was canceled out 24 minutes later by Guyana's winger Trayon Bobb. Marlon Benjamin, Dominique Babb and Clarence Huggins completed The Golden Jaguars' four-goal summary in the second half.
Guyana will play Grenada in the final on Sunday afternoon at Old Boys and Girls high school (time TBA). The Grenadian edged Jamaica 2-1 in the other semifinal.
The semifinal was only two minutes old when Aboubacar opened the scoring for The National Elephants as he controlled Mohamed's low-cross before hitting a shot past opposing keeper Jonathan Copeland from the heart of the 18-yard box.
Guinea players celebrating the opener. Brooklyn Soccer Life Images
Guyana looked for an equalizer three minutes later as Bobb delivered an exquisite cross in a dangerous area but Guinea's center back, Papi Sy, was well positioned to clear the ball.
The Caribbean side did put themselves on level terms with Guinea in the 26th minute when Bobb blasted Jamal Pedro's short pass to the bottom right corner of the net from outside the box.
Guyana winger Trayon Bobb chasing the ball. Brooklyn Soccer Life Images
Guyana took the lead seven minutes into the second half as Benjamin transformed Kesler Jacobs' pass into a marvelous low-strike toward the right corner from the top of the 18. Guinea's keeper Diao did save the shot but after the ball had already cross the line.
Rawle Hensford's men netted a third goal in the 72nd minute when Benjamin headed the ball down toward Babb, who didn't fail to complete his simple task of hitting the ball in an empty net--keeper Diao had come off his line to challenge Benjamin's header.
Guyana sealed things up with one of their familiar swift counter attack in the last minute of the game. Bobb sent Huggins on goal with a pinpoint through ball. The forward paced to the ball before steering a shot past Diao, who was once again off his line.
Players' voice: Clarence Huggins (1 goal)
Guyana forward Clarence Huggins was assured that his side would walk off the pitch victorious even after conceding an early goal.
"It was early in the game after they scored," Huggins said after the game, "we believed, we had the confidence that we were going to come back and win the game."
He previously stated: "We stayed composed, stick to our game plan and did what we do best, as you noticed, throughout the tournament most of our goals came in the second half so we weren't panicking."
Huggins views his 80th minute goal as a "reward" for his work ethic.
"I was working hard, after working hard, you know I would get the reward for how well I was playing," the striker said smiling. "I was playing off the defense, laying off the ball, you know eventually the goal would come."
Three key notes
1. The Golden Jaguars were biting in the first half, The National Elephants fought back in the second period: Guyana committed eight fouls in the first half. Guinea returned the favor with seven fouls after the restart. Both sides finished the game with 11 fouls.
2. Both finalists savored a comeback win in the playoffs: The other finalists, Grenada, had to overcome conceding a second-minute goal in the playoffs also when they rallied back for a 2-1 win over Saint-Vincent and Grenadines in the quarterfinals.
3. Stellar Ben: Guyana captain Marlon Benjamin netted the leveler, assisted the third goal and led his side in shooting with five strikes.
Guyana skipper Marlon Benjamin. Brooklyn Soccer Life Images
Statistics
Guyana
Shots (on target): 13 (8)
Saves: 6
Fouls: 11
Yellow cards: 2
Red cards: 0
Offsides: 1
Corners: 4
Guinea
Shots (on target): 10 (7)
Saves: 4
Fouls: 11
Yellow cards: 4
Red cards: 0
Offsides: 1
Corners: 0
No comments:
Post a Comment