Heading into a final billed with hype due to the talented players set to take the field, Showstoppers silenced ESPN 3-0 to send their humongous home crowd into a frenzy at the final of the West Demerara/East Bank Demerara Zone Guinness “Greatest of the Streets” Football Championships which concluded in the wee hours of Saturday morning at the Pouderoyen Tarmac.
A number of senior personnel, from Banks DIH Ltd including Guinness Brand Manager Lee Baptiste, GT Beer Brand Manager Geoff Clement and
Both Showstoppers and ESPN held a tight battle until the latter began to unravel to with no hope of regaining ground in the enterprising fixture
representatives from co-sponsor Colours Boutique witnessed the final which though looked like a one-sided due to the score line was still filled with excitement.
With the likes of Pernell Schultz and the Lythcott brothers Trevon and Kevon formed the core where threats from the champs arose as they took the initiative from the first whistle and played with invigorating pace and wittiness putting their opponents under immense pressure.
Well it did not take long for them to burst as the prolific Marvin Josiah scored in the 8th minute; there were opportunities for the opposition to equalize but steely defending kept them out. The slippery conditions, due to rain earlier, seemed hard for ESPN to get a full grip and they kept slipping until there was no return since Josiah returned to score in the 18th followed by Dexroy Adams in the 21st to blanket the proceedings.
While the champs took home $400,000 and championship trophy, ESPN did not go away empty-handed and won $200,000 for their efforts however, both teams secured a spot in the national play-offs.
In the third place playoff, West Side Ballers defeated Dream Team 2-0 in a penalty shootout after regulation time failed to break a 1-1 stalemate.
Prince Gilkes gave West Side the lead in the 14th minute which was quickly erased via an own goal a minute later. West Side Ballers took home $100,000, while Dream Team’s efforts made them $50,000 richer.
In the Plate Section final, Ballers Empire squeezed past Rising Stars 1-0 in a penalty shootout after their encounter finished 0-0 in regulation time. They went home with the $60,000 winner-take-all prize.
As Georgetown and the aforementioned zones are now completed, the high intensity street football action will now move to Berbice next month. (Akeem Greene)
