… meet Festival City Warriors in final

HAVING played unbeaten in all their matches leading up to the semifinals, pre-tournament favourites Sparta Boss saw that streak come to an end, courtesy of North Ruimveldt’s 2-1 penalty kicks win at the National Cultural Centre tarmac last Tuesday night.The two sides were meeting in the second semifinal of this year’s sixth annual Banks DIH Georgetown Guinness ‘Greatest of De Streets’ Futsal football tournament, after Festival City Warriors cruised past Leopold Street in the first semifinal.

A large and vocal crowd, probably the largest to witness the action so far, thronged the starlit venue and listened to the sounds from the King Scorpion Stereo System played at intervals, even as the disc jockey kept them alive with cheer-leading chants, when the two second semifinalists graced the venue for their fixture.
Players’ names were shouted from all corners, a testament of the support both teams were receiving and when certain infringements were upheld by the two referees, the words of encouragement that flew from the spectators, strongly underlined the emotions the contest brought with it.
Sparta Boss, who throughout the tournament found the net during regulation time, with their top marksman Sheldon Shepherd and playmaker Devon ‘Don Don’ Millington in their lineup, faced a determined North Ruimveldt unit, who used Gerald Gritten in their defence all night.
Several goal-scoring opportunities were created by both sides, but strong defensive work from Gritten and Sparta Boss’ Jerome Richardson, ensured their teams kept a clean sheet at the end of regulation and extra time, forcing the game to be decided on penalty kicks.
This is an area North Ruimveldt have excelled on over the years, while Sparta Boss, who are two-time Mackeson ‘Keep Your Five Alive’ champions have failed to improve despite their opponents and it was shocking to see their technical staff substitute Millington seconds before the final whistle blew.
However, when the die was cast at approximately 01:25hrs yesterday North Ruimveldt, who scored their first and last spot kick, were the victors over their opponents who missed their first and last spot kicks, sparking off wild celebrations on and off the playing area.
In the first semifinal, Festival City Warriors were the underdogs but thrived on knowing that their more illustrious opponents were lacking unity in their play and even though Okenny Fraser signalled his intentions in the first minute for Leopold Street who played attacking football throughout, Festival City kept their composure.
It was heartening to see the shooting ability of Eon Alleyne who carried Festival City Warriors attack in true herculean fashion, drawing oohs and aahs whenever he fired a shot to Leopold Street’s goal area. He worked in tandem with the dreadlocked Daniel Favorite and the experienced Solomon Austin.
Except for a Fraser shot which rocked the box goal late in the first half, the contest was a bruising affair that went down to extra time after a goalless regulation period and with the scoreline remaining unchanged, penalty kicks were needed from which Festival City Warriors advanced with a 1-0 win.
North Ruimveldt and Festival City Warriors will confront each other in the final that is scheduled for Sunday night at the National Park, with the winners taking home $500 000, trophy and medallions along with a place in the National playoffs set for next year.
The runners-up will pocket $300 000, a trophy and medallions and a place in the national playoffs while Sparta Boss and Leopold Street will meet in the third/fourth place playoff, from which the winners will receive $200 000 and a spot in the National playoffs, leaving the fourth-placed team with $100 000.
The Skills Challenge category of the tournament is still in action, but this time players and non-players can compete for the top prize of $20 000, while the sponsor has introduced a Fair Play Award of $50 000 as well for this year’s edition.

(By Calvin Roberts)