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Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Competition…Massive crowd brave heavy downpour to watch Sparta beat Warriors
– North Ruimveldt finish third
Watched by what was indisputably the largest crowd to ever witness the phenomenal Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Futsal Competition, giant slayers Channel 9 Warriors finally found out that they had travelled a bridge too far after losing to national champions Sparta Boss 1-0 in the final of the Georgetown Zone early Sunday morning, at the National Park.
Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste hands over the winning trophy to Sparta Boss Captain Devon Millington in the presence of teammates and supporters early Sunday morning at the National Park.
Played in wet conditions after heavy rain had saturated the tarmac, the highly anticipated battle begun in front of a huge crowd that included owner of Channel 9 Dr. Noel Blackman, who seems to have fallen in love with the format, officials of title sponsor Banks DIH under its Guinness brand and members of the organizing committee of the Petra Organisation.
The two teams traded early salvoes in difficult conditions as Sparta’s Gregory Richardson and the Warriors Joshua Fiffie’s shots landed just outside the uprights.
Urged on the partisan support, the up-started Warriors appeared to be employing a similar strategy they used in their semi-final victory over Back Circle which was to lay back and wear down their opponents, but Sparta came prepared to not fall for the trap and did not forge forward in numbers, rather seemed content on conserving energy and not risking injury to their marquee players.
Sparta Boss who are no strangers to the big occasion seemed more at home, while the Warriors appeared to be overawed, especially in the face of huge expectations due largely to their earlier performances.
However, they gradually built in confidence and created a few opportunities, but solid defending by a host of defenders nullified those offensive forays.
The mercurial Sheldon Shepherd, who has been the architect of Sparta’s success in a plethora of competitions showed why he has to be considered amongst the best player in the format when he gave them the lead in the 20th minute, skipping past his marker, before firing into an empty goal to silence the Warriors band of supporters.
The teams once again traded shots, but the scoreline remained unchanged when the half time whistle sounded.
In the final period, the Warriors continued to attack, but the Bosses seemed intent on protecting their slim lead with a few occasional attempts to push forward.
However, they defended in a pack and never relinquished their advantage until the final whistle sounded to hand them another important victory and title.
In the third place playoff, North Ruimveldt repelled a late rally by former national champions Back Circle to grab third place.
On target for the winners were Travis Grant, who opened their account after thirteen minutes and Orin Massiah added another nine minutes later which gave them a comfortable 2-0 lead.
In the second period, Andy Duke pulled one back in the 25th minute, but North Ruimveldt kept their cool and defended solidly until the final whistle sounded.
The presentation of prizes will be done tomorrow.
Meanwhile, prior to the commencement of the final, Jamaica’s dancehall artiste Konshens thrilled the fans with lyrical renditions of many of his hit songs that had the ladies yearning for more.
In the night’s full results:
Final
Game-1
Channel-9-Warriors-0 vs Sparta Boss-1
Sheldon Shepherd-20th
3rd Place
Game-2
North Ruimveldt-2 vs Back Circle-1
North Scorers
Travis Grant-13th
Orin Massiah-22nd
Back Circle Scorer
Andy Duke-25th
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