THREE Linden teams and Grove from the East Bank, Demerara, made it safely through to the round of 16 after they gained victories in the last knockout round of play in the inaugural round of GT&T’s FastBall football championship, begun on Sunday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden.
But it was the visiting Grove team who first took their place in the group of 16 with a 1-0 win over Linden’s Trainline, beating them with the lone goal of the encounter, netted by Domini Griffith in the 8th minute of play.
Trainline never recovered in spite of their home-ground advantage and made their exit after qualifying as one of the seven Linden teams who made it to the final 32.
However, this early loss by a team from the mining town was reversed shortly after as the next game featured another Linden-based side Amelia’s Ward ‘A’ and Customs.
The Amelia’s Ward team rose to the occasion and disposed of their Customs opponents with a 3-1 win after being down when Customs went into the lead in the 10th minute through a goal by Lionel Grimes.
But the Ward side levelled the scores six minutes later through a strike by Matthew Whyte then Ezra Green sealed the win with another Ward goal which came as a double after it was slotted home with the blueball in the 28th minute, for an eventual 3-1 win.
With the trend already set for Linden teams another home side Bakewell Topp XX ‘A’ brushed aside Warmongers, their opponents who certainly were never ready for any ‘war’.
In the end Topp XX secured a 3-0 win playing a superior brand of soccer which entertained and established them as the side to beat in this championship after they topped the Linden zone.
As early as the 1st minute Topp XX were into the lead through a beautiful goal scored by Keon Sears, who ended the match with two goals.
Topp XX showed a lot of flair against their counterparts and they never looked in trouble as they executed well in their buildups and delivered in excellent fashion.
Sears blasted in his second goal in the 4th minute and one minute later Jamie Wilson added another, for a 3-0 win.
In the final game of the night, Pioneer ensured another win for the bauxite mining teams with a 4-0 win over GFC Masters who could not overcome a fitter Pioneer side.
The win was the third of the evening by the Linden-based teams with the first goal coming through Lindey Johnson in the 1st minute and which was increased through a ‘John’ Wayne Milo strike which connected in the 13th minute with the blue ball and was recorded as two goals according to tournament rules.
Then Gregory Kercellius was there with another goal in the 26th minute to complete the solid win by Pioneer in the 26th minute.
The GT&T FastBall championship continues tomorrow  at the B.V. Triumph ground on the East Coast, Demerara, where four more matches are scheduled in the round of thirty-two teams.