ONE SIDE will be on a redemption train, while the other will aim to continue their stranglehold on football in the West Demerara area when the curtain comes down on the inaugural Banks Vita Malt/Aqua Mist Water Knockout tournament at the Den Amstel Community Centre ground on Boxing Day (December 26). 

Before the formation of Slingerz Football Club two years ago Den Amstel had ruled the roost winning most of the tournaments and carting off the lucrative spoils on the ‘West Side’.
But when businessman Javed Ali decided to form one of Guyana’s elite football clubs, the tides turned, and now Slingerz are touted as one of the country’s dominant clubs and teams in the WDFA are yet to defeat the goliath-like team.
With $1M up for grabs, the two sides will collide with fireworks expected, as it’s no secret that the huge crowd will be there to see Slingerz fall to a hungry Den Amstel lineup.
Den Amstel had a more convincing path to the final while Slingerz struggled with Slingerz defeating Beavers 5-0 in the quarterfinals while Den Amstel dismantled Wales; literally, winning 15-1.
In the semi-finals Slingerz had to thank its captain Tichard Joseph for his 63rd goal to get them past Pouderoyen 1-0 and while Den Amstel won their clash against Uitvlugt on a technicality 3-1 (Uitvlugt forfeited the match at halftime, claiming bad light), it did not stop the home side from impressing the crowd through goalscorers Delon Lanferman, Travis Hiliman and Andre Hector.
If the aforementioned players could replicate their semifinals performance and Slingerz continue their lacklustre performance then an upset is certainly on the horizon.
However, the likes of Anthony ‘Awo’ Abrams, the team’s leading goalscorer Devon Millington, its dapper midfield player Tichard Joseph, national centre-back Collin Nelson and the other members of the star-studded Slingerz FC team are not known for having two bad games in the row and as such, Den Amstel must bring their ‘A’ game to the battle ground, or, they will have to settle for $500 000.
Meanwhile, the third place playoff encounter between Uitvlugt and Pouderoyen should be good enough to intrigue fans before the grand finale. Both teams had good showing in the semifinals and fell to two of the best teams in the WDFA.
The winners of this game will pocket $300 000 and the losers $200 000.

(By Rawle Toney)