WITH eight teams remaining in the tournament, exciting  displays of high skill by the young footballers vying for the championship and cash prizes  were the order on Monday evening at the GFC ground to conclude His Worship  Mayor Hamilton Dennis Green’s 77th birth anniversary football festival.
The night’s matches saw champions Leopold Street matching skills with Kuru Kururu Warriors, while the second encounter brought together Reggae Boyz and North East La Penitence. In the third match Alexander Village matched skills with West Front Road, and the final quarter-final match up saw Western A face Mocha.
Kuru Kururu Warriors were still in a daze from the Kashif & Shanghai defeat and lost to the star-studded Leopold Street side by a 3-1 margin, Okeene Fraser and Shemroy Arthur being the goalscorers. Cordell Johnson was the lone scorer for the Warriors.
Reggae Boyz were given a challenge by the tournament‘s favourites North East La Penitence and they both held each other in regular time, forcing the game into sudden-death penalty where the Reggae Boyz prevailed.
The third matchup saw Alexander Village and West Front Road, where goal-scoring opportunities were squandered for the duration of regular time and saw a long goal from Herbert Pedro take the Front Road side to a place in the final four.
The final four were selected as Western A met Mocha in what was determined the best show of football of the evening with skill and tremendous opportunities to score being denied by both goalkeepers.
When the game seemed to be heading for a sudden-death penalty, Mocha’s goalkeeper committed an unsporting offence in the penalty area giving the West Ruimveldt boys an opportunity to take the lead.
This was achieved and a similar offence was committed on the opposing side resulting in the equaliser.
The game eventually went to sudden death penalty and the West boys survived.
Leopold Street then took on West Front Road in an exciting battle where the game went to a 2-all draw at the end of regulation time with goals from Fraser and Arthur, while Michael Oie and Herbert Pedro netted for the West boys.
The ball was placed on the spot where Solomon Austin netted first for Leopold Street and former national youth goalkeeper Arthur took to the uprights to save Herbert Pedro’s penalty and send them packing.
Reggae Boyz were faced with a stern West Ruimveldt side who fought restlessly for possession and goal-scoring opportunities to enter the final, but were disappointed with their goalkeeper’s faulty keeping which cost them the game 1-0.
The stage was set at just about midnight for the final between Leopold Street and Western A where an all-out attack from the West Ruimveldt side was taken to the experienced Leopold Street players. Austin and Fraser marshalled the defence and forward line while Arthur attacked the goal at intervals interchanging with Fraser.
Fraser then got the opening on goalkeeper Norris Carter who failed to secure his position to prevent the ball from entering the net as Fraser converted to give his  side a 1-0  lead.
The match continued with runs of physical attack and the referee was busy issuing cautions to players as the clock winded down to the final whistle pronouncing Leopold Street the champions of Mayor’s Cup tournament.
They received $200 000 and a trophy while Western A received $100 000 cash and a trophy. The sponsors were Body Max Fitness Gym, Giftland OfficeMax, and Dr Colin Watson, among other businesses.