Following six days of epic round-robin action, it’s now down to the knockout stage of the inaugural MCYS/East Bank Inter-Village Football Tournament organised by Sports Extra.
Earning the right to advance by virtue of placing as the top two villages from the four groups were Kuru Kururu and Agricola (group A), Swan and Herstelling (group B), Grove and Upper Soesdyke (group C), and Timehri and Kaneville (group D).
The Eccles EE Ground will once again host the matches on Sunday, May 3, and Tuesday, May 5, which are expected to be ding-dong battles and will also test the fitness and resilience of players who will now be contesting 90-minute matches.
All the teams which have advanced have earned their spots, with Kuru Kururu, Grove and Swan the only teams that have kept a clean record to date, Swan drawing one match. These are the villages to watch, as they look like very solid units; nonetheless, the other villages are also in with a chance of booking one of the four semi-final spots on the line.
Sunday’s opening clash brings together Kuru Kururu, which topped group A with two wins in as many matches, putting all on the line when they take on group C runner-up, Upper Soesdyke. Kuru Kururu will be led by veteran Marvin “Munro” Joseph and Kevin Scott, both scoring a double each so far.
Leroy Evans, who has scored their other goal, will also add support to their victory quest. Upper Soesdyke will start as the underdog and will have to come big to topple their opponent. They will have to improve in the attacking third as they have only scored a single goal to the opponents’ five.
Sunday’s feature clash is a potential humdinger, with Swan, one of the fittest teams, taking on a seasoned challenger, Agricola. The tournament’s second-leading goal scorer, Abraham Webb, with a hat-trick of goals, will have to maintain his accuracy if they are to continue their positive run.
He’ll have support from Timothy Adrian and Anderson Webber, amongst other players. Agricola had to draw on all their experience after losing their first match to topple Mocha in their final group game, which allowed them to squeeze into the quarterfinals. They’ll depend on Kelvin Gordon, Shamar Sampson, Demanie Cort and Jamal Fiffe to lead their bid for a win.
On Tuesday, Grove, the most clinical village on show so far, scoring nine goals while conceding two, will take on neighbouring village Kaneville, a young but confident team, in the main event. The tournament’s leading marksman, Domini Garnett (four goals), will once again lead Grove as they eye a place in the semis. Kevin Padmore, Rayfield Hilliman, Akeem Jarvis and Jamal Cordis will all lend support. Kaneville will look to Deno Cupidore, Tyequan Robinson and Herman Gill to lead an upset.
Opening play at 19:00h will see Herstelling and Timehri locking horns with another potential epic expected. Timehri stormed back from the brink after losing their first game to top group D, whilst Herstelling won their first match but went down in their second.
Nyron Barrow, who netted both goals Timehri scored in the tournament so far, will seek to repeat his heroics but will have to contend with the likes of Malcolm Hendricks, Johenni Mendoza and Jonathan Conyers. Two exciting days of play await, with the rewards being four spots in the business end of the tournament.
The tournament has been made possible through the kind sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, Youth & Sport; Office of the Prime Minister; Ministry of Housing; Bounty Farm Ltd; Fitness Express; Republic Bank; Star Rentals; and The Trophy Stall.
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