Top Brandz Corona Invitational Football… Pele & Santos in winners’ row, Riddim Squad & N/Rangers draw 1-1

Jul 30, 2017 Sports, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....d-nrangers-draw-1-1/

By Sean Devers

A youthful looking Pele FC beat East Ruimveldt FC 2nil, Santos FC defeated Flamingo FC 2-1 and Riddim Squad and Northern Rangers drew 1-1 as the action in the Top Brandz Corona Invitational Football competition resumed on Friday night under lights at the Georgetown Football Club.
Played on a slightly soft ground and watched by a small crowd, the first game of the triple header got off to an almost hour late start but in the first couple of minutes East Ruimveldt’s Custodian Trevon Harris, who showed talent between the uprights, was tested twice.
Jamal Scott’s powerful right footer from a loose ball just outside the box was well saved by the alert Harris before Jonathon McKenzie ‘squared’ one from close range for Harris to pull off a diving save on the near post as Pele, without most of their senior players, started aggressively.
Fifteen-year-old debutant Tairhys Payne, a member of the Chase Academy which will play in today’s final of the Digicel school tournament at Lenora, opened the scoring in the 21st minute.
The tenacious teenager capitalised on a defence error by the Goalkeeper when a free kick from center field bounced over the heads of the defenders and Payne latched on to the rebound from Harris and found the back of the net to make it 1-nil to Pele.
Pele was the younger and faster of the two teams and enjoyed most of the ball possession in the opening stanza but lacked skill when taking the ball and passing.
On many occasions Pele’s mid-fielders kicked the ball straight to an East Ruimveldt player who was soon dispossessed.
However, Pele would play the ball too long and passed it too hard without anyone getting into position to take the ball.
The strikers seemed intent on fancy ‘dribbling’ and even when they weaved their way through the defenders they could not finish the job due to a combination good saves and wayward kicks.
The first half of a game which lacked First Division quality, ended with the score still Pele 1, East Ruimveldt nothing.
The second half saw East Ruimveldt getting more and more into Pele’s half but their Keeper was never made to work too hard apart from when a free kick sailed just over his head as East Ruimveldt wasted their best chance to score the equalizer.
In the 79th minute, Harris was caught advancing from his Goal and with no defence player supporting the Keeper, the goal was left wide open and 16-year-old Dorwin George, as cool as cucumber, calmly slipped in from the right flank to pat the ball into the unprotected Goal to score Pele’ winning goal.
In the second game, Santos FC got past Flamingo FC 2-1with Kacy John (4th) and Travis Cotton (90+5) scoring for the winners, while Leon Yaw scored Flamingo’s lone goal in the 78th minute.
In the final game, Riddim Squad and Northern Rangers played to a 1-1 draw after Seon Hope beat the keeper in the 17th minute and Sunil Logan fired in the equalizer in 67th minute.
The competition continues this evening with another triple header with hosts GFC taking on Black Pearl FC in the opening game from 17:00hrs.
Favorites Western Tigers FC face-off with Beacons FC in the second match before Police FC and Camptown FC bring the curtains down with the night’s final game