West Front Road, North East La Penitence, East Front Road and Old School Ballers secured berths to the knockout stage when the final group round in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Georgetown Championship concluded on Saturday. A near hour-long concert by Natural Black at the mid-way point of the night did not blunt the ensuing confrontations as West Front Road-Gold is Money stormed their way into the knockout stage, eliminating Alexander Village by a 2-0 margin at the Demerara Park Tarmac.
Hubert Pedro opened the scoring in the 14th minute, rifling a powerful right-sided effort into the lower left corner. Sibling Randolph Wagner then completed the win in the 20th minute, placing his right-footed shot into the left corner after collecting a left-sided pass on the right side of the field.
Meanwhile, North East La Penitence survived a late fight back from Albouystown-A to win 4-3, in the process sealing their place in the next round at the expense of the former.
Calvin Moore netted a brace in the win in the third and 16th minutes while Shaquille Browne and Webby Webster scored in the 12th and 15th minutes. For the loser, Darren Benjamin scored in the 18th and 19th minutes while Kemo Smith netted in the 17th minute.
Similarly, East Front Road punched their ticket to the next round, downing Castello Housing Scheme 2-0. Dillon Kelly opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a right-sided shot which went through the leg of the final defender and into the net. The win was sealed two minutes later as Kelly scored his second, lashing a left-sided shot into the roof of the goal. Also, Old School Ballers upset Globe Yard 1-0 to seal their place in the elimination round.
With both sides needing a win to claim a position in the next round, Junior Jordan sealed the unlikely win with the final kick of the 20 minute encounter, finishing from the right side of the filed into the left side, after pouncing on a loose ball.
In other results, newcomers Channel-9-Warriors booked their berth in the next round after playing to a scoreless draw with Cross Street. Similarly, West Back Road punched their ticket to the next round following a scoreless draw with Laing Avenue. On the other hand, Albouystown-B were booted from the event after playing to a 1-1 draw with Festival City Warriors.
Needing a win to seal their place in the round of 16, Albouystown could only muster a draw after Chris Marshall scored in the 15th minute to equalize following a Jermaine Tinch fifth-minute strike.
Meanwhile, defending champ North Ruimveldt and Leopold Street battled to a 0-0 score in their final group fixture. Prior to the fixture, both teams had already sealed their respective position in the elimination round.
Winner of the event will pocket $500,000, the championship trophy and the right to represent the zone at the national tourney while the second, third and fourth-placed units will collect $200,000. $150,000 and $100,000 respectively and the corresponding accolade.
Action in the knockout round will commence on Wednesday at the National Cultural Centre tarmac with the round-of-16 stage.
