IT was an evening of penalty shoot-out victories, as Beterverwagting (BV) and Golden Grove secured semi-final berths in the inaugural 592 Beer Inter-Village Football Championship on Sunday at the Golden Grove Community Centre ground.

Both matches ended scoreless at the end of regulation time, as BV defeated Ann’s Grove and hosts Golden Grove downed Brusch Dam. BV prevailed 3-1 in a tense penalty shoot-out. Kicking first, BV got off to the perfect start, as the first round ended 1-0 in their favour, following a miss from Brusch Dam.

BV maintained their lead at 2-1, as both teams converted in the second round. However, BV missed to start the third round, gifting Ann’s Grove the perfect opportunity to equalise. Ann’s Grove spurned the opportunity, firing wide of the mark, much to the disappointment of their fans.

BV secured a 3-1 advantage to start the fourth round as they converted. Needing to score to keep their hopes alive, Ann’s Grove were eliminated as the goalkeeper denied their fourth effort.

Similarly, Golden Grove defeated Brusch Dam 3-0 from the penalty mark. However, the clash was almost decided in the 89th minute, when Golden Grove was awarded a penalty kick for a wild challenge on Dwain Jacobs. The penalty kick was wasted as it was blasted over the crossbar.

Brusch Dam started the penalty shoot-out and missed wide of the right corner. Golden Grove capitalised to take the 1-0 lead. Brusch Dam’s misfortune continued as they fired over the crossbar in the second attempt.

Once again, the hosts capitalised to score to make it 2-0. The failure for Brusch Dam continued as they once again blasted the ball over the crossbar to start the third round. The match was then sealed as Golden Grove scored once more.

Tournament coordinator Eon Havercome, during a brief comment said, “The knockout round has clearly lived up to its billing and has provided entertaining football. Both matches required penalty kicks to decide the outcome which indicates the competitiveness of the tournament.

The fans were treated to the drama of the penalty shootouts which is always a sight to behold and I anticipate much more drama and excitement as we now progress to Christmas Day for the second round of quarterfinals in Buxton.”

The first match on the card will pit Mahaica against Friendship from 20:00hrs. In the second fixture, hosts Buxton tackle Paradise at 22:00hrs.

The winners of the competition will receive $500 000 and the championship trophy. Meanwhile, the second-, third- and fourth-place finishers will receive $200 000, $150 000 and $100 000 respectively and the corresponding trophy.

Individual prizes will also be awarded – Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament, MVP of the finale, Best Goalkeeper of the tournament and the Best Goalkeeper of the final.

Sponsors of the tournament include Bakewell Guyana Incorporated, ExxonMobil, the NSC, Flavours Boss BBQ Grill and the Colin Talbot Construction Services.