FSW crowned champions
CAMPBELLVILLE’S First Street Warriors (FSW), the Georgetown zone winners, adorned themselves with more glory Saturday night at the Georgetown Football Club ground, when they defeated Grove Back Street 9-8 to take the top prize in the inaugural Government of Guyana sponsored Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports organized seven a-side Inter-block football title.
Playing in soggy conditions underfoot, due to heavy rainfall earlier in the day, First Street Warriors were forced to offer resilient defence against the East Bank zone champions, while they were met by some sturdy custodial work from their opponent’s custodian.
Watched by a small but vociferous crowd, both teams failed to break the deadlock at the end of the regulation time despite being presented with numerous chances to do so, forcing the referee to conduct a penalty kick shootout to arrive at a champion, following which, FSW came out victorious to take home the $150,000 first place prize and trophy, while Grove Back Street got $75,000 and a trophy.
Earlier in the night, West Berbice champions Hopetown found the back of the net in the 14th minute, thanks to Delroy Fraser, which saw them take the lemon time break with a one nil lead over the tournament’s eventual champions FSW.
Sturdy resistance from both teams were the highlight of the second half, until Richie Richards known more for his custodial skill, found the back of the net for FSW one minute before full time to ensure the game went into penalty kicks to decide a winner, that saw FSW being adjudged same with a 5-4 score line and a place in the final.
In the second game, Grove Back Street defeated Stewartville All Stars from West Demerara 2-0, with Domini Garnett and Timothy Griffith being the goal scorers, while they inflicted a 1-0 defeat on One Mile from Linden, with the goal coming off the boot of Colin Lancaster.
In their second game, Hopetown got a walk over from Buxton and East Coast Demerara champions Company Road, before the fans who gathered at the venue were treated to the entertaining final between Grove Back Street and FSW.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport following the presentation of prizes, Parliamentary Secretary within the MCYS Steve Ninvalle congratulated the champions while stating that the objectives of the tournament was met, making it an all round success story.
“At the start of this tournament, our aim was to unite not only the players within their respective villages, but build bonds and create friendship amongst the villages that were competing against each other, and  judging from what we observed at matches, that was achieved.
I wish to say thanks to the Government of Guyana for providing the sponsorship for this tournament, while I would like to congratulate the winners for winning same. Not to be outdone, all the teams participating in the tournament were winners in their own way.”
He added, “We will be looking at having this tournament next year, but on a wider scale as we aim to reach all the communities in Guyana. The camaraderie amongst the teams this year was fantastic and while some of the players who were on show may not be members of a football club in Guyana, the talent they displayed tells us that the future of the sport is bright.”