Guinness ‘Greatest of De Streets’ Tournament...Underdogs West Side Ballers crowned inaugural champs

Guinness ‘Greatest of De Streets’ Tournament…Underdogs West Side Ballers crowned inaugural champs

Feb 09, 2015 Sports

– Street Ballers finish third

Witnessed by a capacity crowd that would have left the Organisers Banks DIH with no other choice but to confirm next year’s hosting, West Demerara fans of the Guinness ‘Greatest of De Streets’ Tournament were duly rewarded after being treated to a fantastic conclusion to the tournament on Saturday night, at the Pouderoyen tarmac.

Banks DIH representative Latoya Ajeday-Corbin hands over the winning trophy and first prize to West Side Ballers Captain Anthony Harding in the presence of teammates and Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste during the presentation ceremony on Saturday night.

In the end, underdogs West Side Ballers pulled off a huge upset when they defeated host Pouderoyen Showstoppers 2-0 to take away the first prize of $300,000 and the winning trophy.
The Ballers who many felt would have capitulated to a team that had massive home support and whose confidence was high following an impressive showing in their semi-final matchup never looked fazed by the opposition and even displayed more composure in the opening moments, dominating the early possession.
To add to that they had already fallen to their opponents in the Group Stage so all the odds were stacked against them until Anthony Harding gave them the lead in the 19th minute of play.
It occurred when Morgan Denny soon after receiving a pass from the left side rifled a pile-driver at goal, but the crossbar came partially to the rescue of Showstoppers until the rebound fell into the path of a lurking Harding, who finished calmly.
What was surprising was the magnitude of the celebrations which almost indicated that they had more supporters in the house than the host.
They took an important 1-0 lead to the break as fans anticipated a rivetting final period.
They were not disappointed as the two teams came out in full attack mode treating the fans to some lovely attacking football.
However, the Ballers defended with tenacity and repelled several attacks, before Denny entered the scoresheet to give them a 2-0 cushion in the dying moments of the game.
It came following a relentless press forward by Showstoppers for the equaliser which left them exposed at the back and Denny was in the right place at the right time to pounce on a counter attacking move to put the final nail in the coffin one minute from full time.
Showstoppers, however, did not come away empty handed they won $150,000 and a trophy for their efforts.
In the third place playoff, Patentia Street Ballers carted off the $100,000 prize and trophy after squeezing past Raiders 3-2 on sudden death kicks following a 1-1 deadlock at the end of regulation and extra time.
The spirited Kelvin Roberts had given Patentia the lead after just three minutes with an accurate strike down the centre of the goal.
However, Raiders responded five minutes later through Dexter Marshall, who glided past two tackles to rip a powerful shot into the empty goal.
No team managed to score any more goals and the game went into sudden death penalty shootout which enabled Patentia to take home $100,000 and a trophy. Raiders waltzed away with $75,000 and the fourth place trophy.
Earlier, in the exhibition games, Queen Street of Tiger Bay and Jetty played to a 1-1 draw, while West Coast Masters and West Bank Masters matchup ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
The final two matches saw Guyana Power and Light (GPL) edge Samaroo Dam 2-1, while Admiral United eased to a comfortable 3-1 triumph over Samaroo Dam.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News