Future Stars showed real class and talent on night two of the Xtreme Clean/GT Beer ‘Gold Rush’ Futsal Tournament, on Saturday night at the National Gymnasium, to run riot over North East La Penitence and register a resounding 5-1 victory as the knockout stages of the competition continued.
The Future Stars team struck first — in the 3rd minute through Jamal Cozier — but Junior Jordan equalized for North East in the 8th minute, to leave the game at 1-1 going into the break.
Shem Porter attempts to score during the penalty shootout between Alexander Village and PlaisanceFuture Stars (white) on the attack against North East La Penitence
Play had just resumed when Future Stars’ Keron Solomon went on a mazy run to drill one home and restore the lead for his team. And he then struck again in the 19th minute to make it 3-1.
Teammates Kevin Cummings and Akeemo Anthony struck the proverbial nails in the coffin of North East La Penitence when they scored a goal each within a minute of each other; and the game ended 5-1 in favour of Future Stars.
Earlier in the night, the Broad Street Ballers needed a last-minute strike to overcome Buxton 2-1 in the opening game.
Broad Street’s Darren Benjamin opened the scoring in the third minute, but the next goal scored was by Buxton’s Delon Wright, in the 14th minute to make it 1-1. The next five minutes would see a tug-of-war as the two teams fought for possession. However, Broad Street would have the final say, as Daniel Favourite slammed one home from a distance, to ensure that his team progressed to the group stage.
Tucville outlasted Melanie to win 5-4 in a game that was so enthralling the spectators could not, for an instant, take their eyes off play. Jermain Junior opened the scoring for Tucville in the first minute of the game, while his teammates Ryan Hackett and Jahaal Greaves netted twice by the 7th minute to make it a 3-0 affair by this point, creating the impression that it was all over for Melanie.
But Melanie’s William Europe had different ideas, as he netted a superb strike to make it 3-1 at halftime. Europe then added his second goal in the 15th minute, to carry Melanie within a goal of equalizing at 3-2.
Tucville’s Hackett then completed his hat-trick, scoring in the 16th and 17th minutes to extend his team’s lead to 5-2.
Melanie’s Europe came agonizing close to levelling the scores when he scored in the 18th and 19th minutes of the game, but his efforts were just off the mark, as the game ended 5-4 in favour of Tucville.
Plaisance and Alexander Village went neck-to-neck, ending their game 4-4 after extra-time and having to go to penalty kicks to decide a winner. Kevin Gordon bagged a hat-trick when he scored in the third, 13th and 25th minutes; and Shem Porter was the other scorer in the 17th minute, as Alexander Village went after victory.
However, Plaisance refused to roll over and die, responding through Dwayne Ali in the fifth and 15th minutes, and teammates Kelvin Bowen and Gavin Collymore in the 19th and 22nd minutes, to level scores.
As the game went to penalty kicks, both teams missed their first tries, tension getting the better of the players. Nevertheless, the Plaisance players held their nerve to win 3-2 on penalties.
Campbellville United bowed out as Bent Street showed remarkable composure to endure a stiff first half in which Campbellville took an early lead through a Stephon Ramsey strike. At the end of the first half, Campbellville were still leading 1-0 when Okenny Fraser converted after some crisp passing to level the score at 1-1 in the 13th minute. Travis Likine then seal the deal, as he scored twice in two minutes to leave the game at 3-1 when the final whistle blew.
Among the favourites, West Front Road’s “Goal is Money” lost on penalty kicks in their game against North Ruimveldt. Earlier, in normal time, Hubert Pedro opened the scoring in the fourth minute, while Joshua Brown equalized for North in the 9th minute, to make things level as the first half ended at 1-1.
The second half was a game of attack and counter-attack as the teams went back and forth, only for normal time to end in a stalemate. North Ruimveldt eventually triumphed via penalty kicks at 3-2.
Back Circle proved too hot to handle for Globe Yard, who were booted out of the competition without offering any resistance, losing by a 3-0 margin. Selwyn Williams in the 19th minute, Jermaine Beckles in the 9th and Jamal Adams in the 16th were the scorers for Back Circle.
The knockout stage having been completed, the teams that progressed were placed into three groups to accommodate progression of the round robin stage.
