… defeat Melanie 3-0 in National final

FOLLOWING their impressive performance in the Georgetown leg of the Guinness ‘Greatest of De Streets’ Futsal competition, champions Queen Street/Tiger Bay defeated East Coast champions Melanie 3-0 to claim the Guinness Street Football National Title at Demerara Car Park last Sunday night.

James Meredith (5th), Alpha Fletchman (24th) and the tournament’s top goalscorer Deon Alfred (30th) were the men on target for the newly crowned national champions, who will go on to represent Guyana at this weekend’s Caribbean Guinness ‘Greatest of De Streets’ competition, in Trinidad and Tobago.
In the third place playoff, Albouystown ‘B’, who finished fourth in the Georgetown leg of the competition which was held late last year, defeated Linden’s champions Eagles 2-1, with Malvern Ross (11th) and Roy Cassou (20th) scoring for the victors while Rene Allicock pulled one back for Eagles in the 21st minute.
In the Skill Competition which was held to arrive at a winner to represent Guyana in this category at the Caribbean championships, Melanie’s Mikel Stoute was head and shoulders above his seven competitors, earning the judges’ nod in the process.
Three exhibition matches were played last Sunday night, to keep the fans who braved the overcast conditions occupied before the third place competitors and finalists took to the court. Giant Killers defeated Underdog 3-1, followed by Guinness Bar’s 1-0 win over Media XI. Giant Killers and Clippers Barbershop played to a 1-1 draw.
For their top place finish in the national finals, Queen Street/Tiger Bay have not only earned themselves one year bragging rights as Georgetown and national champions, but also walked away with $400 000. Their trip to Trinidad and Tobago would also see them compete for US$4,000 and a certified FIFA Training Course in the sport.
Melanie, Albouystown ‘B’ and Eagles pocketed $200 000, $100 000 and $75 000, for their second- to fourth-place finishing respectively.
Meanwhile, in their respective semifinal matches which were contested the previous night, Melanie ‘A’ defeated Albouystown ‘B’ 5-4 on sudden-death penalty kicks taken from the halfway mark, following a 1-1 stalemate, with William Europe scoring for Melanie in the 19th minute and Marlon Nedd responding for Albouystown ‘B’ five minutes later.
In the second semifinal, Queen Street/Tiger Bay on the back of Alfred’s brace scored in the 2nd and 18th minutes of play, got the better of Eagles 2-0 to advance to the final.
Prior to the playing of the semifinals, the final round of preliminary matches was contested in which Eagles trounced Stevedore Housing Scheme 4-0, with Delon Charter (5th), Delon McAllister (18th), Deon Charter (20th) and Allicock (21st) scoring for Eagles.
In the second match, Hope Street/Tiger Bay and Melanie played to a nil-all stalemate, but the latter went on to win 2-0 on penalty kicks, followed by Albouystown ‘B’s 3-1 penalty kicks win over Wismar Housing Scheme, after regulation time ended 1-1. Ross scored for Albouystown ‘B’ in the 21st minute which negated Andrew Charles’ 15th minute strike for Wismar Housing Scheme.
The final preliminary round match was contested between Queen Street/Tiger Bay and Linden’s Retrieve Unknowns. Queen Street/Tiger Bay won 2-0 on penalty kicks, after a nil-all stalemate.

(By Calvin Roberts)