… Leopold Street cop third place

A ‘NEVER-SAY-DIE’ attitude from a resurgent Bent Street side prevailed over the most decorated Futsal team in Guyana, Sparta Boss, to take the inaugural Magnum ‘Mash Cup’ and $400 000 on Sunday night before a capacity crowd at the National Gymnasium.

It was pulsating action between the two sides from the outset when the final started well past midnight. However, Bent Street who fielded a fairly young, new-look team went ahead 1-0 in the 12th minute when Ryan Hackett thundered home the first goal of the game, But Jermin Junior, a newcomer to Sparta, levelled the score three minutes later.
With the scores level, both sides failed to breach the other’s defence and it wasn’t until late in the second half that the game took an interesting turn.

Sparta took a deserved lead in the 42nd minute with Junior grabbing his second goal of the match. This galvanised the Bent Street outfit into action and it was fitting that Kelsey Benjamin brought his team level, three minutes after going behind to Sparta. The match petered out at the final whistle with the scores level. So it was up to penalty kicks to decide the winner.

It was the Bent Street players who ultimately held their nerve to come out 3-2 winners on penalty kicks, to the pleasure of their fans while Sparta had to settle for being second best this time around.

In the third-place game that preceded the final, fans were treated to a 13-goal thriller between Leopold Street and Silver Bullets which really set the tone for the evening.
The Linden-based Silver Bullets are known to be a free-scoring side while Leopold Street have always been offensively aggressive as well. Both teams stayed true to their colours but Leopold Street triumphed in the end winning 7-6.

Leopold Street were led from the front by their captain Okanie Fraser who netted a hat-trick, Fraser came flying out of the blocks scoring his first two goals in the seventh and 11th minutes respectively to give his team a seemingly unassailable 2-0 cushion.

However, Kieron Cameron in the 15th and Damion Williams in the 16th minutes clawed Silver Bullets back into the game at 2-2, but Leopold’s Tyrese Forde in the 18th minute along with Fraser’s third strike and a Darren Benjamin goal in the 23rd minute, gave their side some breathing space. Omallo and Orandel Williams with a strike apiece in the 25th and 33rd minutes completed Leopold Street’s victory.

The other scorers for Silver Bullets were Jermain Samuels in the 21st and 29th minutes while Cameron scored a second goal in the 32nd minute, Deshawn Freeman had a single goal in the 34th minute but it was too late.

The runners-up of the tournament (Sparta Boss) had to settle for $200 000, while third-placed Leopold Street pocketed $150 000 and Silver Bullets $50 000.

(Michelangelo Jacobus)