Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Dec 15, 2016 Sports
By Rawle Welch
It was billed as the ‘El Classico’ of street football in Georgetown, the clash between current title holder Sparta Boss and former champion Back Circle was anticipated to be a slugfest, but it failed to live up to the hype.
In the end, all it did was provide supporters and adversaries of the defending champions Sparta Boss with irrefutable evidence of their matchless superiority in the futsal format of the sport.
Playing in the last semi-final of the Georgetown Zone of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Competition at the National Cultural Centre Tarmac on Tuesday, before a packed house, Sparta Boss rebounded from a one-goal deficit to defeat bitter rivals Back Circle 2-1 to set up a final date with Tucville who scraped past Broad Street Bullies by a 1-0 margin.
In the feature encounter, Sparta Boss fell behind after seven minutes when defender Eusi Phillips in an effort to intercept a soaring shot delivered from within Back Circle’s half, watched in dismay as the ball glanced off his chest and bounced into the goal.
With the support overwhelmingly in favour of Back Circle, the associated effect resulted in wild celebrations as the feeling of an upset saturated the minds of a large section of the crowd.
However, playing with the hearts of champions, Sparta Boss weathered the storm and came close to gaining the equalizer through the nippy and influential Devon Millington and the hard working Solomon Austin whose efforts landed agonizingly just outside the uprights.
It was clear that they were building momentum, working the ball beautifully in tandem and their superiority in this format was rewarded when Austin finished with aplomb, a fine exhibition of dribbling artistry by Millington, brought back specifically to bolster the champs attacking options.
The equalizer came in the 19th minute of play and the game remained deadlocked at 1-1 at the break.
Coming out of the break, Sparta Boss very early showed glimpses of their offensive intent and their supporters did not have to wait long, exactly two minutes into the period, to celebrate with frenzy when a long ball from the back found a lurking Courtney Britton and all it required was a slight shift from the last stop and a final berth was reality.
The first semi-final could be considered an upset as the tournament’s most consistent team Broad Street Bullies were taught the rudiments of defending, especially by the experienced Gerald Gritten, who put on a defensive display that must have caught the eye of Sparta Boss and their coaching staff ahead of tomorrow night’s final, at the National Park.
Leon Richardson fired in from close range to hand Tucville the lead in the 5th minute and after that it was a defensive showpiece that left a team that displayed menacing firepower throughout the competition looking exposed and impotent.
It became a Gritten show that lasted until the final whistle sounded much to the humiliation of Broad Street Bullies fans.
In the night’s full results:
Semi-finals
Game-1
Tucville-1 vs Broad Street Bullies-0
Leon Richardson-5th
Game-2
Sparta Boss-2 vs Back Circle-1
Sparta Scorers
Solomon Austin-19th
Courtney Britton-21st
Back Circle Scorer
Own Goal-7th
The tournament is also being sponsored by Colours Boutique of Robb Street, Rainforest Waters and Powerade.
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