K&S/One Guyana National Futsal Championships 2024: Bent Street, Road Warriors, Sparta Boss, Back Circle to contest semis on January 1

…After riveting Round of 16 & quarterfinal action

The reopened Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) has seen exhilarating Futsal action earlier this week, as teams competed in the Round of 16 and semifinal segments of the “One Guyana” National Futsal Championships.
Each winner on the quarter-final night did so in fantastic style, none scoring less than 5 goals in marching into the semifinals and the business end of the inaugural Kashif & Shanghai/“One Guyana” National Futsal Championships.
On Boxing Night, the second night that competitive sports made a grand return to the refurbished Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), not only were the quarters hosted, but the first two matches in the female segment of this competition were hosted as well.
Using the home-and-away format which will see the top two teams on aggregate contesting the final on January 3rd 2025, Lady Canaimas trounced The Lioness 11-0, while Lady Royals tamed Tucville Terrorists 7-0.
Lady Canaimas were led by Sandra Johnson with 5 goals (7th, 9th, 11th, 17th, 22nd), and Glendy Lewis hit in a helmet-trick (2nd, 6th, 18th, 19th), while one each came from Shanic Thornhill (11th) and Glengie Lewis (24th).
Amanda McKenzie led Lady Royals with a hat-trick (7th, 12th, 16th), Shontell Greene had a double (8th, 21st), while there was one each for Ashantie Aaron (8th) and Tiandi Smith (15th).

The teams will collide again on January 1st with the overall winner advancing to the championship match.
The most rousing clash on the night was the Road Warriors/Gold Is Money match, which saw the Warrior lads from Brazil/Lethem schooling one of the more seasoned futsal teams in Guyana. Even the fans in the stands and VIP booths were so appreciative of the style of play displayed by the Road Warriors that they were constantly on their feet to applaud exciting moments and the quality of goals that were scored following meticulous moves on court, which ended in some scintillating goals.
Leading the Warriors to the biggest margin of victory on the night was Wendrecky De Souza with a hat-trick (23rd, 26th, 37th) which has now taken his tally in the championship to 11. Matheus De Souza (7th, 19th) and Daniel Alves (3rd, 25th) each scored a brace, and Dionathas Pereira (6th) and Erilson Cadete (34th) each contributed one.
The lone goal scored by Gold Is Money came from Shomar Kouley in the 8th minute.
Road Warriors will meet with Bent Street ‘A’, which defeated Team Cruel of BV 6-3. Team Cruel’s Samuel Garnett scored an own goal in the 9th minute to get Bent Street’s goal tally underway, and it was not until the 20th minute that it was doubled through a Daniel Ross effort, his first of two.

Second half strikes by Pernel Schultz (26th), Jobe Caesar (29th), Daniel Ross (35th) and Colin Nelson (40th) kept intact the Bent Street boys’ hopes of a place in the championship match.
Team Cruel’s enterprising run in the championships came to an end with this loss, as their three goals: from Jamal Codrington (28th, 33rd) and Dequan France (32nd), were not enough to negate Bent Street’s path to victory.
The championships’ leading goal-scorer, Beveney Marks, has maintained his ability to score in every game. He scored in the 19th minute, his 22nd overall in Back Circle ‘A’s 5-2 triumph against North East. That win sealed the Back Circle’s semifinal clash with Sparta Boss, which got past a tough Stabroek Ballers ‘B’ by a 6-3 margin.
The other scorers for Back Circle ‘A’ were Darren Benjamin (5th), Stephan McLean (6th), Akil Plass (30th), and Steohon Reynolds (32nd). Jaldew Hamilton (11th), and Tyrese Dennis (15th) were the scorers for North East.
Stabroek Ballers ‘B’ held the first-half advantage when Gerry Burnette’s 17th minute strike sailed past goalkeeper Omar Jones. The Ballers had looked destined to create a huge upset, but the experienced Sparta side gradually ramped up the momentum, and eventually wrested both advantage and control from the Ballers.
Once Sparta Boss had equalised in the 23rd minute through Omari Glasgow with the first of his brace, there was a steady procession back to the centre circle to restart the ball by Stabroek Ballers.
Glasgow scored again in the 27th minute, as did Curtez Kellman. Kelsey Benjamin added his in the 34th minute, and Jermaine Junor did so two minutes later. Nicholas McArthur hit in number 6 one minute before the final whistle.
Burnette was on target again in the 39th minute, a minute after Mark Jahlu had netted the second for Stabroek Ballers ‘A’, whose efforts were not enough to thwart the Sparta push.
Meanwhile, Futsal action was equally as entertaining on Christmas Night, when teams advanced to the aforementioned quarterfinals.
Easing their way into the quarterfinals to join Bent Street ‘A’, Team Cruel, Gold Is Money, and Road Warriors were Stabroek Ballers ‘A’, North East, Back Circle ‘A’, and Sparta Boss.
The most exciting battle of the night was the encounter between Espanyol and North East. Espanyol’s first two goals were own goals, scored compliments of North East’s Jalden Hamilton in the 3rd and 20th minutes.
Hamilton did make initial amends when he also scored his team’s first goal in the 7th minute to tie the score at 1-1.
Kelvin Moore blasted the first two of his three goals in the 10th and 16th minutes, with Lennox Cort (11th) and Calvin Moore (17th) handing North East the advantage for a good period of time.
But the battle was not yet ended. Adrian Martinez tucked in a brace in the 26th and 27th minutes to bring Espanyol within striking distance, and with one minute to the final whistle, Carlos Gill tied the score at 4-4.
When all felt that the game was destined for extra time, a late surge by North East, which turned out to be the final rundown of the game, produced a stunning winner off the boot of Kelvin Moore, his third of the match. This goal would be remembered for a long time, as it led his team to a nerve-racking 5-4 win and a date against Back Circle ‘A’ in the final eight.
Back Circle ‘A’ boasts the championship’s leading goal-scorer in Beveney Marks, and he continued his dominance with 5 more goals, taking his overall tally to 23 while orchestrating another massive win for his team, 16-1 against Timehri Warriors.
Back Circle ‘A’ conceded their first goal in three matches, and they have scored a total of 44 goals against 3 opponents, equalling their highest margin of victory – 16-0 – against Vryheid’s Lust.
Marks was on target in the 6th, 22nd, 24th, 36th and 38th minutes. Cecil Jackman supported well with a hat-trick (29th, 34th, 36th), while there were doubles each from Stephen McLean (8th, 26th), Stephon Reynolds (9th, 32nd), Ravin Naughton (16th, 30) and Darren Benjamin (17th, 39th).
Nigel Joseph netted Timehri Warriors’ consolation goal in the 39th minute.
Stabroek Ballers ‘A’ were also in ripping form in the night’s opening match, blanking Unstoppable 14-2. Scoring three goals each were Sharmar Welch (1st, 8th, 35th), Marcus Tudor (6th, 32nd, 39th) and Deon Alfred (12th, 28th, 28th). Mark Jahlu (3rd, 27th), Dorwin George (22nd, 40th), and Dwayne James (25th) accounted for the other goals.
Derwin Bourne (17th) and Leandre Arthur (21st) were the only players on target for Unstoppable.
The night’s final game produced a 5-2 win for Sparts Boss over Bent Street ‘B’. Curtez Kellman (2nd, 4th) and Omari Glasgow (14th, 25th) scored two each, with Derron Niles converting the other in the 2nd minute. Tyrese Lyle and Randy Roberts (40th-minute penalty) responded for Bent Street ‘B’.