Semis set for Sunday

FANS are in for a potentially mouthwatering evening of football some Sunday night when the semifinals of the third edition of the ‘One Guyana’ Kings and Queens of the sand football championships are contested at the People’s Progressive Party ground in the Bauxite Mining Town of Linden.

While a new male champion team would be crowned in this third-edition of the championship, defending female champions, Speightland will be severely tested in their semifinal against the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) which has been very dominant in group matches ending as the top team in Group ‘A’ with three wins from as many matches, their opponent had to settle for the runner-up position in Group ‘B’.

The GDF, whilst conceding one goal more than Speightland, has scored the most goal by any of the four teams contesting the semis, 21. Speightland is next with 15, conceding 2 to the GDF’s 3. This match will be fiercely contested with the winner earning the right to contest the final which has $800,000 as the winner’s prize.

The next clash between Iconic Strikers, winner of Group ‘B’ with an unblemished record of three-wins and Hururu, runner-up in Group ‘A’, will see the former starting as huge favourites to advance to the championship match.

Iconic Strikers has conceded just a single goal in their three matches, scoring 14, while Hururu has conceded the most, 11 whilst only scoring 9 goals. Unless there is a great change in the offensive and defensive fortunes for Hururu, Iconic Strikers certain of advancing.

In the men’s side of the divide, the LA Ballers vs. Hardknocks final match of the night will be a humdinger of a faceoff. LA Ballers will start as the odds-on favourite to win having scored 43 goals in group and quarterfinal matches and conceding just 7 times and is the only undefeated team of the last four male teams, with five out of five, they topped Group ‘A’.

Hardknocks though, cannot be underestimated as they too ended at the top of Group ‘C’ with three wins and a loss, then won their quarterfinal game, for a combined 30 goals and being scored upon 14 times.

They have been hardened from their matches so far and will be fearless in the main event of the night on Sunday, knowing that a place in the final is at stake and a chance to pocket 1.5 million.

The other semifinal, Spaniards vs. Goal IQ, the main supporting match, is billed to be another action-packed showdown between two teams boasting three wins, and a loss apiece in the group stage and a quarterfinal win each.

Spaniards have netted 17 times whilst conceding 7, Goal IQ have fired in 15 goals and took 8 which shows the almost neck to neck stats by these two sides. What will make the difference in this clash will be the defensive fortitude of each team whilst also being clinical in the final third.

The opening match on Sunday night will be a junior queens affair between Mackenzie High School and Multilateral from 18:30 hours.