After nine days of action and 284 goals recorded, the inaugural GT Beer Futsal Championship will be decided tonight with a clash of the stars when tourney favourites Sparta Boss opposes Bent Street at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall from 22:00hrs.
The all-star showdown will be a matchup of statistical opposites as the tourney’s best defensive unit will lock horns with the event’s leading strike force in what promises to be an intriguing affair.
Labelled the event’s most balanced side prior to the event’s commencement, the star-studded East La Penitence unit has certainly lived up to their billing following their 5-1 defeat of arch-rivals West Front Road in the semi-final round.
While their roster possess a plethora of attacking talents, it is their defensive capabilities that has been the catalyst for their success.
Analysis of the defensive numbers highlight a team that has only been breached 13 times over five fixtures at a phenomenal average of 2.6 goals per game.
A closer look at their rearguard statistics further indicate that during their last three fixtures they have only conceded nine goals at a greedy aggregate of three goals per match.
Custodian Maurice Prince alongside utility man Sheldon Shepherd and Eusi Phillips have been the defensive leaders throughout the event and much of the same will be expected. While their rearguard numbers have been outstanding, offensively Sparta Boss has been very capable going forward.
Currently, 25 goals have been found by the East La Penitence giants at a decent conversion of five goals per match. Travis Grant and Dennis Edwards leads the assault with six goals each while Deon Alfred, Cleon Forrester and Phillips have scored four, three and three goals respectively.
However, on the other side, Bent Street and their ‘demolition crew’ await after recording the largest margin of victory during the championship in the semi-final with a 13-5 drubbing of Festival City.
Inspection of the numbers disclose that Bent Street has scored a mammoth 45 goals to date over the five matches at a dangerous average of nine goals per game. The next best offence with 31 goals in four matches is the eliminated Sophia.
A closer look at the figures highlight that Bent Street has been in a rampant mood during the elimination rounds, recording an unbelievable 25 goals during the two matches at an unbelievable rate of 12.50 goals per game.
Present tourney top scorer with 11 goals Okeene Fraser leads a strike-force featuring the likes of Colin Nelson with nine goals, Stellon David with seven goals, Daniel Wilson with six goals, Amos Ramsay with four goals and Sheldon Profitt with three goals.
From a defensive standpoint, Bent Street will need to straighten up their rearguard as they have conceded 26 goals over five matches at 5.2 matches per game, second only to Festival City and Sophia who have conceded 28 goals.
Similarly, they have conceded 10 goals during their last two matches at an average of five goals per match. The likes of custodian Dorville Stewart, Wilson, Nelson, Steffon Ramsay and company must rectify their defensive frailties, if they are to emerge in the winner’s circle.
The earlier third place matchup is also expected to be fascinating showdown when Festival City faces off with West Front Road-Gold is Money from 21:00hrs in what can be described as a budding rivalry.
Similar to Bent Street, the Festival City line-up are an offensive based unit, with 31 goals coming off the boots of their roster at an average of 6.2 conversions per match.
Solomon Austin is their current top shot with nine goals with while Eon Alleyne, Dwayne Lawrence and Daniel Favourite are the next best scorers with eight, seven and five goals respectively.
Defensively, they possess the joint worst record in the event with 28 concessions, 13 of which came in their semi-final defeat. Overall this translates to a rate of 5.6 goals per fixture. If they are to finish the event on a positive note, a better defensive showing will be needed.
In the case of West Front Road, their statistics highlight a team that is balanced on both ends. From an attacking standpoint, they have scored 25 goals at a decent average of five goals per match.
Randolph Wagner is the principal threat for Gold is Money with 10 conversions while his sibling Hubert Pedro has scored seven and uncle Micheal Oie has netted four times.
While they might not possess the depth and defensive minded players, in terms of the rearguard statistic, West Front Road has conceded 21 goals, five of which was let in during their semi-final loss. This equates to a decent average of 4.2 goals per game, second only to Sparta Boss.
Prior to the commencement of the finale and third place playoff, Lands and Surveys will oppose Banks DIH Limited in the first of two exhibition matches at 20:00hrs while the Media Team will hope to avenge their 4-3 loss to the Guyana National Cricketers in second fixture at 20:30hrs.
Winner of the event will collect $500,000 and trophy while the second, third and fourth place finishers will collect $250,000, $125,000 and $75,000 and the correspondingly accolade. The other major sponsors of the event is the National Milling Company (NAMILCO) of Guyana and Trophy Stall Bourda.
