After 11 days of pulsating action, the Georgetown leg of the Guinness Greatest of the Streets football tournament will culminate today when Festival City Warriors battle North Ruimveldt in the grand finale at the National Park Tarmac in Thomas Lands from 10:45 am.
Statistically the most balanced team in the event, Festival City Warriors earned their place in the finale after downing Leopold Street 1-0 on penalty kicks after a 0-0 score at the end of regulation and extra time in a bruising affair.
Offensively built, the Warriors will start the matchup as the favourite having netted a tournament leading 16 goals in seven matches to date. This translates to 2.28 goals per game, which is easily the best in the event.
13 of the 16 conversions have come from the boots of Dwayne Lawrence, Daniel Favourite, Eon Alleyne and Solomon Austin, with Favourite and Lawrence leading the charge with four goals apiece.
Adding to an already formidable attacking resume is their defensive prowess which has only seen their rearguard breached once to date. This is attributed to their high-press defensive mindset led by the versatile Austin patrolling in front of the final defender.
Whereas three goals scored overall might not inspire much confidence from an attacking perspective, the most important statistic for North Ruimveldt is the one goal conceded since the inception of the event.
A strong defence is often attributed to championship winning units and the mere ease with which North Ruimveldt led by the likes of Gerald Gittens and Joshua Browne have dealt with the attacking forays of their adversaries will make them a tough unit to break down.
This is evident in their 2-1 victory over Sparta Boss on penalty kicks in the second semi-final affair after neither side was able to find the back of the net in the allotted regulation and extra-time intervals.
From an attacking standpoint, North Ruimveldt will need the likes of Travis Grant, Gittens, Rickford James and Colin Daniels to come to the party if they are to emerge victorious when the opening whistle sounds.
In the third place playoff, former winners Leopold Street led by the duo of Omallo Williams and Okeene Fraser will faceoff with Sparta Boss and their trio of Devon Millington, Sheldon Shepherd and Eusi Phillips from 10:00 am.
The winner of the event will receive $400,000 and the championship trophy while the runners-up will collect $200,000 and a trophy. The third and fourth placed sides will receive $150,000 and $75,000 respectively along with trophies.
By virtue of qualifying for the semi-final round, all four teams will represent the Georgetown zone in the national tournament slated to be held next year.
