HAVING missed his original spot kick during the penalty kicks shoot out, Akeem ‘Too Cute’ Fitzpatrick calmed his nerves and confirmed his teammates trust in him to seal his ‘Sudden Death’ kick from the same spot, to hand West Front Road a 2-1 penalty kicks win over Norton Street West last Monday night.The two sides were meeting in a preliminary round qualifying encounter in this year’s sixth annual Petra Organisation/Banks DIH ‘Guinness Greatest of De Streets’ Futsal football competition, which took place on the East Ruimveldt Community Centre tarmac.
Hundreds of spectators braved the intermittent showers which fell during the course of the night’s seven matches to witness the action and cheer on their favourite teams, but it was ‘Too Cute’ Fitzpatrick’s shot which sparked off carnival style celebrations at the venue.
It was a fast paced game, with the versatile Nigel DeCamp taking the attack to West Back Road on behalf of Norton Street West, hence it was no surprise when he found the back of the net in the 4th minute, a goal that was nullified seconds after by Keon Caesar for West Back Road.
In fact, many pundits were debating whether Caesar’s goal, which was scored seconds after the whistle blew, was the fastest in the history of Guyana’s football, irrespective of the level or category, be it Futsal, regular or beach football.
However, played on a surface that had small puddles of water in some places, the contest failed to produce anymore goals forcing the game to go into penalty kicks, wherein both teams scored one of three kicks, using the sudden death method to arrive at a winner, following which Fitzpatrick stood tall.
The proceedings began with Leopold Street defeating Future Stars 3-1 on penalty kicks after a nil all scoreline, followed by Festival City Warriors, on the back of Dewayne Lawrence’s brace that was scored in the 3rd and 11th minute, coupled with solitary strikes from Ian Alleyne (4th) and Solomon Austin (14th), blanked Louisa Row 4-0.
Adelaide Street, Charlestown, was too good for a game Lodge Housing Scheme, coming away with a 1-0 win in a hard fought contest, thanks to Sherwin Jacobs’ 7th minute goal and the heroic efforts of Terrence ‘Old Head’ Lewis, who marshaled the victors defence and midfield well on a slippery surface.
Riverview must have had an unknown fairy godfather/mother on their side, as they rebounded from conceding a penalty kick that was missed during regulation time, to defeat Kitty Stoppers 1-0 after Travis Martin scored off a gem of a pass from Kwesi Weekes in the 16th minute.
The final two games of the night resulted in 1-0 victories for Durban Street and Cross Street, over Jamoon Drive and Stevedore Housing Scheme respectively, while the action officially kicked off at the Demerara Car Park last night and will continue at the Albouystown Court tomorrow night.

(By Calvin Roberts)