Melanie-B sealed their berth to the quarterfinal round by defeating Buxton-A 2-1 on penalty kicks after normal time ended 0-0 when the second annual Guinness Greatest of the Streets East Coast Edition commenced at the Haslington Market Square on Saturday.
Ryan Seales almost opened the scoring for Melanie-B in the seventh minute as his right-footed attempt from the left side of the field, crashed into the left upright.
The nippy Seales would be denied once more by the woodwork in the 11th minute as his right-footed strike cannoned off the right post following a one-on-one situation with the final defender in the centre of the field.
The opening goal would continue to evade the Melanie-B unit as Seales once again struck the left post in the 21st minute with right footed effort from the right side, after playing a cheeky one-two pass combination in front the centre of the goal. With normal time unable to find a winner, Melanie-B would eventually prevail on penalty kicks 2-1 after two Buxton-A players missed their attempts while only one Melanie-B player was unsuccessful from the spot.
Defending champions Plaisance defeated Nabaclis 1-0 in the opening matchup. Warren Gilkes separated the two villages with a fourth minute left footed attempt down the middle of the goal.
In other results, Victoria Eagles held off the Golden Grove Warriors 4-3 on sudden death kicks from the half way mark, after normal time finished 1-1. Kirk Warren opened the scoring for Victoria Eagles in the 15th minute while Michel Evans levelled the score in the 24th minute.
Beterverwagting (BV)-A earned a walkover victory against Ann’s Grove Young Warriors in the seventh matchup while Paradise defeated Ann’s Grove Punters 1-0. BV-B then defeated Plaisance-B 2-0 while Melanie-A earned a walkover win against Mahaica.
Melanie-B defeated Buxton-A 2-1 on penalty kicks after normal time finished 0-0. The quarterfinal and eventual semi-final rounds will commence on Wednesday 21st at the same venue.
Paradise will face off with Victoria Church Yard United while Melanie-A will face off with BV-A. In the other two quarterfinals, Plaisance will battle BV-B and Melanie-B will lock horns with Victoria Eagles. The resulting winners will face off in the semi-final round later in the evening.
The winner of the tournament will pocket $300,000 and the first place trophy while second, third and fourth placed finishers will collect $150,000, $75,000 and $50,000 respectively.
The tournament finalists will also earn the right to represent the East Coast Zone at the national event which is slated to commence shortly in the year.
