Topp XX walked away with a dramatic 3-1 shootout win over early giant killers Coomacka when the final of the Upper Demerara Football Association’s (UDFA’s) year-end championship tournament, notable for its upsetting outcomes, was played on New Year’s Night at the Mackenzie Sports Club ground in Linden.
Businessman Nigel Hinds, presenting the Trophy Stall Championship Trophy to Troy Nelson, coach of Topp XX
In front of a sold-out crowd which seemingly favoured another unlikely win for Coomacka, the team from the Mines area could not realise their dreams because of the heroics of Gregory Hinds, the Topp XX man between the uprights.
Both teams had battled with the hope of a win in regulation play, but even after extra time had expired, the situation remained unchanged, thus the resort was to penalty kicks.
In the end, the legion of supporters of the underdog side Coomacka, a side which had created upsets by beating the tournament’s two top teams in Net Rockers and Botafago, ended up having their hearts broken because of the steely resolve of the Topp XX between the uprights.
Topp XX, which had won similar tournaments before, although none of the recent UDFA- promoted championships, got their first taste of victory in this particular tournament by inflicting a bitter defeat on the Coomacka side.
Playing for the first time in a New Year’s game, Coomacka looked to assert themselves early. After Topp XX had initiated the first offensive foray, Coomacka responded with the assistance of their goalkeeper Kellon Major, who looked good in keeping out the early chances taken by Topp XX.
In one of the best buildups, which featured a great switch from inside right to the left flank, Coomacka ended the play with a deft left-foot drive by Wheatland Thom, which beat Topp XX goalkeeper Gregory Hinds all ends up for a 1-0 advantage four minutes before the first half ended.
That 1-goal disadvantage was a heavy tag for Topp XX to bear coming into the second half of play, so they resolutely
put together their formation, as Coomacka did not miss a step in countering their more known rivals. However, in the 60th minute, Topp XX gained the equaliser from their forward Shawn Daniels in what was a fine effort for a 1-1 score.
That 1-1 score was what caused the game to be truly on, with an expectant crowd watching. Both teams maintained their offensive mode, leaving their men in goal to thwart attempts at scoring.
By the end of regulation and extra time, the unseeded Coomacka still had an even chance to capture the championship title in the penalty shootout that followed. However, their first shot at goal was a miss, whereas the Topp XX side scored. This broke the rhythm of Coomacka, and they never recovered from that opening miss; and were always out of contention, as the indomitable Gregory Hinds would, against and again, make saves that ultimately gave his side the championship win by a 3-1 score.
Hinds, deservedly named the Most Valuable Player, collected the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 worth $250,000 from businessman Nigel Hinds, who also handed over the Trophy Stall winners’ trophy and the Nigel Hinds Financial Services’ $700,000 first place cash prize to the Topp XX coach, Troy “Boy Blue” Nelson, at the end of the tournament, during the presentation.
In remarks, Nelson said his side was confident going into the penalty shootout. He opined: “I had no fear going into the penalty shootout. I had all the confidence in my man between the uprights, Gregory Hinds. It was for Coomacka to ensure they can score from the spot.”
Nelson declared: “This is Top XX’s time after a long wait, and now that the era of the 2020s is here, it links with my team’s name of Topp XX.”
Topp XX captain Ryan Noel said, “I was very confident going into the penalty kicks, as we had the momentum going into that aspect of the final. We fought for this for a long time, and been up and down losing. This bunch of players said, ‘We are going to war’, and after coming close with seconds and thirds, we are now able to win a big championship like this.”
After being down 1-0 in the third-place playoff game, Botafago, in the second minute of play, rebounded to inflict a 5-2 drubbing on Haynes and Lewis Winners Connection to grab third place win in the competition.A Jamal Haynes-double, scored respectively in the 44th and 89th minutes, and single strikes from Floyd Headley in the 67th, Gary Velloza in the 73rd, and Jashawn Moore in the 74th minutes, accounted for Botafago’s goals; while, for the Winners Connection, the goals were scored by Joel Bollers in the 2nd minute and Marmalaque Davidson in the 80th minute.
