By Joe Chapman

FIVE-time, year-end football champions in the Kashif and Shanghai era, Topp XX, are seeking another such championship when they face lowly rated Coomacka from 21:00hrs at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in the grand final tonight.

The winners’ prize is $700 000 and the Most Valuable Player received a Samsung Galaxy Note 9, both compliments of Nigel Hinds Financial Services.

Perhaps the most improbable result was the win by Coomacka over the number one-ranked club in the tournament this year, Net Rockers then the stunning victory when they took care of the second-ranked side Botofago to reach the final.

However, the first game will be the third-place playoff game between Botofago who won the championship two years ago ,and they will be facing three-time champions Haynes and Lewis Winners Connection from 19:00hrs.

The hot topic clearly is about Coomacka Mines team from south of Linden, with their followers donning their orange and blue colours, They could pull off a major title for the first time and it is also the first time that a team from the Mines area would have reached a semi-final, much less take home the bacon.

Speaking to their coach Carlsdale Aaron, he said the pressure is not on his team but Topp XX whose reputation was in tatters these past few years.

Such a feat of carting off the $700 000 will do much to the playing of football in the Mines area of Linden. Speaking after their semi-final win, coach Aaron was quick to state: “We going back to the drawing board as from tomorrow.

“We will sit down and sort out things, because we didn’t really play how we had trained but I hope that come this grand final we will give a better showing. We are going back to the drawing board.”

He continued: “This team is trying to put everything into it and once they execute in the game as planned, no team can stop us.”

He said the majority of their players are teenagers but with a few seniors around they can win this final. He said their goalkeeper was outstanding so far and that was demonstrated in the semifinal game with some brilliant saves.

Aaron said the man between the uprights for them is Kellon ‘Cleansheet’ major and with the front-liners Lionel ‘Messi’ Peters, Keiron Daw, Kurston Thom and Wheatland Thom having a good tournament, Coomacka will be hard to beat this time.

Troy ‘Boy Blue’ Nelson is a winner, having been on those Topp XX sides that won the year-end tournament five times and has been patient with this new era players. He offered this comment, “Well, as the coach, it is the support of the Almighty that inspires us to bring out this kind of performance because we haven’t been in this position for a very long time.”

Looking back Nelson reminisced, “It’s like ten years, we always getting knockout in the quarter-finals or playing for third place.  But God is good. As the coach I decided to stick with my team through the bad patch and God has answered my prayers and I just need another win to finish the 2000 teens and go into 2020 as a champion. That is all I am asking the Father to bless me with.”

He made the point that Travis Waterton, who has been the stabiliser of the Topp XX, has the experience and is now stationed in the back line. But Waterton has also shown the ability he has over the years in coming forward and in their last game did so effectively to get two goals like he used to when he was on the striking line

Since playing that well in defence with Ralph Alexander and Stephan Tappin and Ruel Williams, their captain Ryan Noel and Carlos Grant have been very effective in scheming and their front players Jamal Bentick and Shawn Daniels could be key players tonight.

This makes this game one of great importance and from this will determine the way forward for football as the lesser teams have shown promise this time around.

The opening game from 19:00hrs will be a rubber affair, as Botofago seek to maintain their ranking over Winners Connection, who would see this as a chance to edge ahead in the Upper Demerara region with a win.