TROPHY Stall-sponsored teams seem to have a special liking for wanting to hold on to anything the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) sponsors, when their female football team, dubbed the Trophy Stall All Stars, emerged as the GT&T FastBall ‘Queens’ after outplaying Lethem Eagles to come away with a 3-2 win at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, last Sunday night. The Trophy Stall All Stars team comprised of some members of the Guyana’s senior national women’s team, better known as ‘Lady Jaguars’ and they were expected to prevail against the less accomplished players from outside the Capital City.
But the girls from the Rupununi District provided some stern opposition for the city lasses in an absorbing final, witnessed by over 8 000 admiring supporters; but in the end, it was Trophy Stall Stars team who whooped and made a lap of honour to celebrate their historic first lien on the trophy.
In the process, they emulated the achievement of the Trophy Stall men’s softball team who had won the first-ever GT&T-sponsored 10/10 softball competition at the Everest Cricket Club ground last year.
Trophy Stall All Stars took the lead in the eighth minute, when Colette Hope’s powerful 40-metre drive skimmed the fingertips of the Eagles United custodian before settling safely at the back of the net. Two minutes later, Charmaine Wade sent the crowd into raptures of delight when she increased the advantage to 2-0.
The Eagles United never gave up and their relentless pursuit for glory and respect saw Faette Wenlesliaus tied the scores at 2-2 when she scored with the BlueBall one minute after it was introduced in the 12th minute of the first half, to level the scores.
During the second half, Trophy Stall All Stars were much more dominant and Andrea Lashley outsmarted the defenders to score in the 21st minute, an item that turned out to be the winning goal that catapulted Trophy Stall All Stars into the history books.
It was double celebration for Trophy All Stars when their midfielder Nicola Leacock was voted Most Valuable Player.
With only four teams registered for the female competition, Lethem Eagles United set the marker down for prolific scoring when they demolished Linden All Stars by a 7-0 margin in the first semi-final, thanks to goals from Sonia Griffith (3rd), Janet Chinian with the BlueBall in the 13th, Vanessa Scipio in the 21st, Jaette Wenlesliaus in the 26th and with the “BlueBall in the 30th.
In the other semi-final, it was Amanda Armstrong who was headstrong when she butted home the ball during a goalmouth scrimmage to ease the nerves and tension of the Trophy Stall All Stars combination and their supporters.
Solid Gold of Bartica fought bravely but they just could not get the ball into the net of the City opponents and were left stunned and drained at the end. Somola Norton sealed the victory for eventual champions Trophy Stall All Stars via the BlueBall in the final minute of their match.
GT&T’s Chief Executive Officer Yog Mahadeo (second left) and Chief Financial Officer Royston Rachpaul (third right) share the moment with the Trophy Stall All Stars team, after they were crowned GT&T FastBall Queens. (Photo by Cullen Bess-Nelson)