Georgetown’s Back Circle defeated East Coast champions Plaisance 4-1 in the countrywide final of the Guinness Greatest of the Streets at the Demerara Park Tarmac (Banks DIH Parking Lot), Industrial Estate on Monday.
Seeking redemption following their earlier loss to the Plaisance unit in the group stages by a 1-0 score line, Back Circle showcased vintage form as they easily disposed of their East Coast rivals.
Like the intermittent showers that prevailed, the East Ruimveldt side rained goals on Plaisance with the tournament’s leading marksman Andy Duke slotting home his right footed strike in the fourth minute to open the scoring.
Seizing the early initiative, the East Ruimveldt-based side doubled their lead as a great one-two pass combination between Vincent Thomas and Wayne Wilson unlocked the Plaisance defence with the former finishing with aplomb with a right footed strike in the 19th minute.
Shocked by their position and at the mercy of the partisan crowd, Plaisance surrendered a further goal in the 20th minute to Back Circle center half Devon Harris. The lanky Harris, upon receiving a pass from Thomas in the midfield area, unleashed a power strike from the right flank that nestled into the bottom of the goal.
Unable to create chances throughout the majority of the encounter, the East Coast side eventually pulled one back in the 22nd minute through a Kester Greene right footed strike from just outside the foul area.
With time and their championship aspirations quickly ticking away, Plaisance began to throw bodies forward urgently in search of further goals to salvage a result. Their desperate attempts however, would play right into the hands of the more experienced Back Circle side as the nail in the coffin would be duly hammered home by the previous scorer Harris in the 25th minute.
Intercepting a through pass within his defensive third, Harris would initiate a fast solo counter attack through the middle of the playing surface. Bearing down on the opposition goal and with only one defender in his path, Harris let loose a well-placed, right-footed effort that evaded his onrushing opposite number to find the back of the net.
With the win, Back Circle earned $400,000 and the opportunity to represent Guyana at the Guinness ‘Caribbean Street Challenge’ Championship from June 21-23 in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Plaisance received $250,000 for their second place showing.
In a post match comment Back Circle Coach Wayne Harris stated:“We ready to go forward in St. Vincent and dominate and win a title for Guyana.”
The tournament’s top scorer Andy Duke also shared his sentiments saying:“We had a successful tournament and even though we had a shaky semifinal, it was a great performance in the final.”
Plaisance Coach Johan Joaquim in an invited comment said:“We lost focus; most of our players have individual talent but need more exposure. “Overall we did well and in the future we want everyone to keep an eye out for Plaisance and we would hope that the sponsors help to develop Plaisance community as it’s a breadbasket of excellent skill.”
Silver Bullets earned the third spot as they edged Victoria Church Yard 3-2 on penalties as normal timesaw the match ending 1-1. Nigel Bennette scored for Silver Bullets in the sixth minute while Andrew Holder found the equalizer for Victoria in the 23rd minute.
Silver Bullets received $150,000 for their third place finish while Victoria walked away with $75,000 for the fourth position.
In the earlier semi-final fixtures Plaisance defeated Linden champions Silver Bullets 3-0. Warren Gilkes, Keyon Esmond and Prince Johnson scored in the 16th, 20th and 23rd minutes respectively.
Back Circle defeated Victoria Church Yard United 3-0 on penalty kicks in their semifinal encounter after regulation time and extra time ended 1-1. Andrew Holder found the back of the net for Victoria in the 30th minute while Back Circle equalized in the 32nd minute through Harris.
In the exhibition matchups, the Media defeated Oasis Taxi Service 1-0 while Guinness Bar overcame Banks DIH 2-1 on sudden death kicks as regulation time ended 1-1.
