Old Fort, GCC play to exciting draw on opening night

A last minute Devin Hooper dagger earned GCC a hard-fought 2-2 result with Old Fort when the Diamond Mineral Water International Indoor Hockey Festival commenced earlier this evening.

With less than 20 seconds remaining at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue, the veteran Hooper raced into the right of the arc following a forward pass from  Stephen Xavier, before firing past the advancing goalkeeper Anthony Cole to seal a point.

Prior to the dramatic end, GCC took the lead in the 14th as Peter DeGroot netted with a placed shot into the lower left hand corner from inside the centre of the arc, after collecting a Dwayne Scott cross from the right flank.

Their lead was short-lived as Jason DeSantos equalised two minutes onward, skipping past two opponents while racing into the left side of the arc, before curling a shot past the custodian Medroy Scotland into the right corner.

The score remained unchanged heading into the halftime interval. Upon the resumption, Kevin Spencer almost gave GCC the lead in the 23rd minute, as his shot from the right side of the arc, crashed into the right upright.

However Old Fort took the lead in the 31st minute as DeSantos bagged his second, unleashing a powerful shot from the right side into the top left hand corner during a penalty corner.

Nonetheless, Hooper made his presence in the dying moments to secure a point for the Bourda based unit.

The tournament will run through Sunday, when the finals for all categories will be played.