Popular tournament kicks off at Hellshire beach today
published: Sunday | July 3, 2005

Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter

WITH THE Wray and Nephew National Premier League season well and truly over, the second staging of the Red Stripe Light Beach Futbol competition will be the highlight of Portmore today.

The tournament's opening round at Hellshire beach will feature eight games.

In the first game at 10:00 a.m., newcomers St. George's take on Waterhouse, who made an early exit from the tournament last year after showing signs of promise.

BEST-PLACED LOCAL TEAM

An hour later, Sandy Bay, who surprised many big teams in this year's Confederation's Cup, will try recapture that form when they play Village United, who were the best-placed local team in last year's competition.

This year the tournament appears more balanced with the inclusion of teams that are on the fringes of the country's biggest competition, the National Premier League (NPL).

Los Perfectos, who just missed out on an NPL berth this year after losing out to Boys' Town in the final play-off game, provide an example of this as they take on Reno at noon.

The action is non-stop as all eight hour-long games will be played without a break between them.

The fans that beach Futbol earned last year can also look forward to the newest members of the NPL, Boys' Town, taking on Arlington, one of the teams that is making its way back to the Super League.

SPRING VS WADADAH

At 2:00, Constant Spring, who seemed to be one of the teams that adapted to the conditions of Beach Futbol when they placed second among the local teams, take on Wadadah, who also impressed last season.

Wray and Nephew NPL and Red Stripe Champions Cup champions, Portmore United try to cap off a magical season when they start their campaign against Rivoli United at 3:00 p.m.

A mouth-watering contest awaits the fans at 4:00 as beaten Premier League finalists, Tivoli Gardens, play Harbour View, the team that they crushed in the semi-finals.

At 5:00, Invaders, who had to deal with the ignominy of being relegated from the country's top league, will play against faltering Arnett Gardens who have a good crop of youngsters to choose from.