ALL SIX GROUP “A” teams can still qualify for the quarter-finals but it will be pain for two and pleasure for four when they contest their final preliminary matches in the LIME Pelican Football Challenge at Kensington Oval today.
All three matches will have a bearing on which four teams will advance to the knockout stage.
In the opener at 5 p.m., Kick LG Strike Force, with teenaged striker Diquan Adamson now cleared to play his first game of the competition, will square off against a youthful Emmerson Boyce 5th Avenue Bajan Elite side, which is on a high after back-to-back wins.
Both teams are on six points and a victory for either would virtually guarantee their qualification while a draw would also benefit Strike Force because of their superior goal difference.
At 7 p.m. in the second game, struggling defending champions Tiger Malt Bajan Pride must win against the inconsistent Indar Weir/Barbados Steel Works Top Bay Settlers.
The feature match at 9 p.m. will see Akademiks up against the hot and cold Broad Street Men’s And Women’s Red Tridents.
Despite having only four points from four matches wth only one win, Bajan Pride can still advance by defeating Top Bay Settlers.
Bajan Pride’s biggest problem has been their inability to put away the goal-scoring opportunities created by midfield magician Jabar “Buggy” Greene and Kimar Griffith, with the biggest culprits being Walton Burrowes and Jemel Pinder.
A starting role should be found for Rondelle Vaughan.
Top Bay Settlers will depend heavily on Gregory Goodridge, Kent Hall and Ramuel Miller but strikers Hendy Richards, Mustafa Haqq and Ryan “Shaky” Griffith will have to be clinical upfront.
The feature match will see Riviere Williams, Curtis Odle, Kadeem Atkins and Dwayne “Boot” Griffith carrying the attack to the Akademiks’ defence, which will be marshalled by teenager Akeem Maloney with Romayne Primus in goal.
At the other end, Akademiks’ trio of Mario Harte, Lionel Paul and Jason Goodridge will try to penetrate Red Tridents’ defence of Jonathan Straker and Omar Archer to get a crack at custodian Corey Bridgeman.
