REGULATION-TIME goals were the order of the night when the quarter-finals in this year’s Petra Organisation/Banks DIH-sponsored, East Coast of Demerara Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal football competition were played last Friday at the Haslington Market Square.

One of the eight teams who battled for supremacy that night – Nabaclis – ensured a place in the semi-final line-up, when they defeated defending champions and pre-tournament favourites Melanie ‘A’, 1-0.
This was after the large and vociferous crowd who thronged the venue once again for the fourth night of action, witnessed Beterverwagting ‘A’, Plaisance ‘A’ and Melanie ‘B’, all book their spots in the semis.
In the first quarterfinal match after the exhibition matches, Beterverwagting ‘A’ became the first team to make the final four, when they blanked their ‘B’ counterparts 3-0, courtesy of a double from Akeem Curry.
Curry scored his first goal in the first minute of play, one that signalled what was to come during the course of the night, while Delroy Deen, who is a thorn in the flesh for teams on the East Coast, doubled the score six minutes later with a goal of his own when they battled BV/Triumph United on the big field.
With a 2-0 lead, BV ‘A’ kept the pressure on their ‘B’ counterparts as if they were the ones trailing and reaped rewards in the 19th minute, when Curry completed the double, a goal that ensured BV ‘A’ of their spot in the semi-finals.
The Plaisance ‘A’ versus Paradise encounter was worth its weight in gold, with no quarters asked and none given throughout the encounter, which had the female fans screaming from the opening whistle to the final one.
Darwin London received thunderous applause in the 3rd minute, when he scored for Paradise, who surrendered the lead after several back-and-forth contests for supremacy. Carlos Matthews scored a 7th minute goal for Plaisance ‘A’.
Both teams tried to gain the upper hand and it took the efforts of former national player Warren Gilkes to break the deadlock and score what was the winning goal for Plaisance ‘A’. He had worked his way around his marker and let loose a fierce shot with his left foot in the 14th minute, beating the defender on the first post of the small goal.
With no more goals materialising in the remaining time, due to some stern defensive work by Plaisance ‘A’ the team from lower East Coast came away victorious.
Last Friday, when Amuneke Rogers rose in the air to meet an airborne pass from his teammate and scored off a glancing header in the 9th minute, Melanie ‘B’ were fortunate to score a 1-0 win over a game Buxton line-up.
In the final game of the evening, Nabaclis, with nothing to lose but much to gain, took the playing area to take on the defending champions and when play got under way, the nervousness of Nabaclis was evident as they gifted their opponents several goal-scoring opportunities, which they squandered.
However, when Nabaclis were presented with their chance to score, they did not let it slip by and this was evident when Akamo Jack received a gem of a pass from the right side and fired a first-time volley that rocked the box in the 14th minute, to send the defending champions in a state of frenzy.
Try as they may, Melanie ‘A’ could not negate Jack’s strike due to some strong defensive work by Nabaclis and when the final whistle sounded, the defending champions were left to rue their missed opportunities. Nabaclis celebrated and have gone back to the drawing board to plan for their final-four fixture.
The semi-finals will be played at the same venue on Wednesday from 22:00hrs, following several exhibition matches, with Plaisance ‘A’ taking on BV ‘A’ in the first semi-final followed by Nabaclis and Melanie ‘B’ featuring in the second from 22:30hrs.
The final will kick off four days later at the same venue, with the winners of the event receiving $300 000 and the championship trophy, while the runners-up take home $150 000 and the third- and fourth-place finishers cart off $100 000 and $75 000 respectively, even as the top two teams represent the East Coast in the national playoffs in June. (Calvin Roberts)