… Futsal kings in must-win game tonight

THE reputed ‘kings of futsal’ in Guyana are trotting on the line of elimination from the inaugural Xtreme Clean & Maintenance/GT Beer ‘Gold Rush’ Futsal Tournament, following their 4-2 loss to Tucville on Tuesday evening at the National Gymnasium.
The defeat means that the star-studded team will now have to win tonight’s clash against Sophia in order to stand a chance of advancing to the tournament’s quarter-final stage.
Buoyed by an exceptional team performance, Tucville, with goals from Jahaal Greaves (7th), Raphael Edwards (9th), Delon Williams (13th) and Jermaine Junior (20th) showed why, despite not having ‘big names’, are still considered one of the top teams in the tournament.
Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson had given Sparta Boss an early lead with his goal in the opening minute of the game, but ‘Sparta’ was kept at bay with some excellent defending and goalkeeping, and were only able so score in the closing minutes of the encounter through Eusi ‘Boney Man’ Phillips.
Meanwhile, the eagerly anticipated battle between the experienced Bent Street and Future Stars lived up to all expectations as they traded goals in an electrifying first half which ended 2-2.
Ralph Parris (3rd) and Jamal Cozier (7th) were Future Stars goalscorers while Daniel Wilson netted a double for Bent Street; scoring in the 2nd and 5th minute.
Melvorn Ross (13th) and Devon Dooker (20th) scored for Albouystown in their 2-0 victory over Tiger Bay, while Back Circle bounced back from a lacklustre opening game to inflict a crushing 5-0 win over North Ruimveldt.
Broad Street Bullies scraped past Plaisance 4-3 in another entertaining slugfest. Sophia showed little mercy in their 4-0 drubbing of Agricola Champion Boys to boost their chance of a quarter-final spot.
The winning team will receive $500 000 and the championship trophy, while second-, third- and fourth-place finishers take home $200 000, $100 000 and $50 000 respectively. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) will receive $50 000.
The final round of the round-robin phase concludes this evening at the same venue with Future Stars versus Plaisance; Agricola battling Tucville; Albouystown challenging North Ruimveldt; Bent Street colliding with Broad Street and Back Circle facing Tiger Bay.