THANKS to a double from diminutive striker Shem Porter, Alexander Village staved off a strong challenge from Upsetters to come away with a 3-2 victory when the round of 16 matches in the fourth annual Mackeson Stout ‘Keep Your Five Alive’ was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall tarmac last Saturday night.

On the same night, defending champions Sparta Boss survived a scare from Costello Housing Scheme, before they managed to come away with a 3-2 victory via sudden death penalty kicks shootout, which was the order of the day in the remaining five matches, after the first three saw outright victories being recorded.
Following Melanie and Texas’ respective 1-0 victories over La Parfaite Harmonie and Albouystown ‘B’, with Kellon Loncke and Alvin Chase scoring the winning goals for their team, Alexander Village took the court to face Upsetters, who started their contest briskly with an offensive approach.
Hence it was no surprise when Saikou Browne scored for Upsetters in the 4th minute of play, following which his side went on the defensive with the aim of protecting their lead which they managed to do for five minutes, before Eon Singh scored the equalising goal for Alexander Village in the 9th minute.
Following the break which was taken with the scores level at 1-1, Porter, became a thorn in Upsetters’ flesh, creating several plays for his teammates who failed to finish and while he showed his disappointment, Porter took it upon himself to complete the job.
He did so clinically, scoring two goals within the space of 45 seconds, finding the back of the net in the 14th and 15th minutes respectively, much to the delight of the crowd to give his team a 3-1 cushion while they went on to win 3-2, after Eron Hayde pulled back one for Upsetters in the 17th minute.
West Front Road used sudden death penalty kicks to come away with a 4-3 win over Sophia after a nil-all finish, which was followed by Sparta Boss’ win, while Tiger Bay won 2-0 on penalty kicks from Leopold Street.
The final game of the night was a heated one between Albouystown ‘A’ and Back Circle, which the former won 1-0 on sudden death penalty kicks, after a nil-all scoreline at the end of regulation time and 3-3 scoreline after the first four kicks.
The quarterfinals will be played at the same venue this coming Saturday, while the semifinals and final will be contested next Saturday at the same venue, following which over $500 000 in cash and prizes will be distributed to the respective winners.
Teams are asked to note carefully that only those who have been registered on the registration form provided will be allowed to compete, with no alterations being allowed during the course of the tournament, only in the case of injury which must occur during the playing of the competition.
Apart from Ansa McAl and DeSinco Trading, some other sponsors of the tournament, which has three playing days remaining after tonight, are: Colours Boutique, Clairan’s Boutique, Clear Water, Star Party Rentals, White Castle Fish Shop, and HJTV and its 94.1 Boom FM, just to name a few.
Written By Calvin Roberts