Amelia’s Ward Russians predict victory over Hardknocks in tonight’s final
… Retrieve Unknowns and Porkerburg meet for third place
FOLLOWING several nights of preliminary, quarterfinal and semifinal action, Futsal football fans in the mining town of Linden can expect another thrilling night of action tonight at the Amelia’s Ward/Wisroc Bus Park from 18:30hrs. It brings the curtain down on the second annual Banks DIH-sponsored Linden Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ competition, wherein  Amelia’s Ward Russians take on Hardknocks for the $500 000 first prize and a place in the Regional Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ competition which will be held sometime this year, right here in Guyana.
In the third-place playoff, for which the winning team will take home $150 000, Retrieve Unknown who were defeated by Eagles in last year’s final, will take on Porkerburg, while there will be an exhibition tournament for which $100 000 in cash prizes is up for grabs.
The Amelia’s Ward Russians have praised their secret system of play for their position in this year’s tournament and with players of the calibre of skipper Travis ‘The Russians Boss’ Watterton and Shawn Daniels in their lineup, they will be heavily favoured to take home the bacon.
Watterton described his system of play as a very tactical one, which is designed to shut down all attacks by eliminating all play coming through the mid-field, maintaining a solid defensive back and at the same time being able to orchestrate a counterattack to hit their target.
Daniels added that in the Russians’ camp,  there is excited anticipation, but his team is focused and ready to annihilate the enemy, while confidently informing their fans to expect nothing else but victory.
However, Hardknocks refused to let the words of their opponents affect them and in response said they will let their talent and style of play do the talking for them tonight, as it has done throughout the tournament.
Their unit is a formidable one which comprises some members of CBR Milerock Football team, including attacking midfield players Clive Nobrega, Adswel Benjamin, Alistair Johnson and Travis Bobb-Semple, with Timothy Small marshalling the defence.
Meanwhile, as an added attraction and a means of saying thank you to the hundreds of fans who thronged the various venues each night the tournament was held this year, an exhibition tournament will be held among the teams who failed to reach this far in the tournament.
Teams like ousted champions Eagles, Coomacka, Sheriff Squad and Trainline Warriors, just to name a few, will be battling for a top prize of $50 000 in the exhibition tournament, with the second- and third-placed finishers receiving $30 000 and $20 000 respectively.
Other teams to watch in the exhibition matches are Bosai, Minibus and Conductors, L.U.C.S.L, L.E.I, Top Class, Overseas Al-Star and Team Greatness.