Sparta crush Albouystown 5-1 to make tonight’s final

Jun 17, 2017 Sports

---

-Tucville outlast Sophia to set up rematch

By Rawle Welch
Could any team really stop them was the question being asked by the large crowd that turned

up to witness reigning futsal champions Sparta Boss crush a previously undefeated Albouystown 5-1 in semi-final action of the Xtreme Clean & Maintenance /GT Beer ‘Gold Rush’ Tournament which continued on Thursday evening, at the National Gymnasium.
The lop-sided victory assured them of a place in tonight’s final where they face a tough Tucville side that outlasted Sophia 6-4 in a drama-filled encounter.
Appearing in the final game of the night, Sparta Boss, who’re undoubtedly the most dominant team in the shorter version, almost immediately established their stranglehold on the game when the diminutive Eusi Philips smashed in a right-footer from the right side after just two minutes.
Oozing with confidence and dominating most of the possession, Sparta Boss showed that they were in no mood to entertain any opposition and netted their second through the lanky Solomon Austin almost immediately after he was introduced when he received a pass down the centre and fired past a surprised Albouystown goalkeeper in the 9th minute.
They took a handy 2-0 lead to the break.
Coming out in the final period, Sparta Boss were relentless in their offensive forays with Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson and talisman Devon ‘Don Don’ Millington a thorn in the flesh of their opponents.
Three minutes after the resumption, Richardson scored the goal of the night when he collected a long pass from inside their half tricked his marker intro thinking that he was going inside, but instead rolled to the outside and in one motion hit a cracking right-footer into the far corner.

It was a moment of magic and brought back memories of his glory days when he destroyed many defences.
Two minutes later, not to be outdone, Millington, who was content on delivering the deadly passes, said it was time for him to get into the act and he delivered with aplomb, weaving past one defender to fire past the hapless Albouystown custodian to make it 4-0 and clearly their final appearance guaranteed.
Albouystown most lively player and one who threatened all night, Lennox Cort, gave them their consolation strike when he took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the Sparta backline to lash past the keeper in the 28th minute.
However, Denis Edwards, who had been watching the proceedings from the bench all night, came on as a substitute and he too inked his name on the scoresheet, beating his marker, before slamming a powerful right-footer into the back of the net to make it out of reach for Albouystown to recover.
That goal came in the 29th minute and it was just a matter of preserving the lead and playing sensible which they did to advance to another final.
The game that preceded that was an enthralling showpiece, but was not without its controversy as Tucville held on to beat Sophia and set up a dream final against Sparta Boss who they had defeated earlier in the competition.
Once again it was the skilful Jermaine Junior, who led them to victory with a hat-trick netted in the 4th, 7th and 14th minutes, while Dennis Edwards duplicated his performance with a treble as well, scoring in the 5th, 30th and 34th minutes of play.
For Sophia, Omallo ‘Mow’ Williams slammed in a brace in the 6th and 32nd minutes, while there was one each for Desmond Cottam 35th and Stephen Dolphin 36th.
However, a moment of controversy erupted when an appeal for goal was disallowed by Referee Wayne Griffith, who ruled that the ball did not end over the goal-line.
That ruling did not affect the excitement and the fans were kept on the edge of the seats as the two teams traded goals with rapidity.
The two losers will now play in the third place playoff.
The winning team take home $500,000 and the championship trophy, while second, third and fourth placed finishers collect $200,000, $100,000 and $50,000 respectively.
The tournament’s Most Valuable Player will receive $50,000.
Among the other sponsors on board are: Fas Grafix, Jefford’s Distribution and Sales, Giftland Distribution Store, Windjammer International Cuisine & Hotel and FARMSUP Mining Investments Inc.
In the night’s full results:
Game-1
Tucville-6 vs Sophia-4
Tucville Scorers
Jermaine Junior-4th, 7th and 14th
Dennis Edwards-5th, 30th and 34th
Sophia Scorer
Omallo Williams-6th and 32nd
Desmond Cottam-35th
Stephen Dolphin-36th
Game-2
Sparta Boss-5 vs Albouystown-1
Sparta Scorers
Eusi Phillips-2nd
Solomon Austin-7th
Gregory Richardson-23rd
Devon Millington-25th
Dennis Edwards-29th
Albouystown Scorer
Lennox Cort-28th

---

---