Topp XX bested fierce rival Winners Connection 4-1 on penalty kicks in their third place playoff when the inaugural GTT/Limacol Football Championship concluded on Sunday at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground in Linden.
Unable to find a winner with the score locked at 2-2 at the end of normal and extra time, the first round of penalty kicks saw the score move to 1-1 as both sides scored from the penalty mark.
However, Topp XX seized the advantage in the second round as they scored while Winners Connection failed to convert. It went from bad to worse for Winners Connection in the third round as Topp XX scored and they failed to convert from the distance.
Needing only a conversion to seal the win at the start of the fourth round, Topp XX made no mistake, netting emphatically from the distance to spark wild celebrations on the field.
With the win, Topp XX walked away with the $125,000 third prize and a trophy while Winners Connection collected $75,000 and the respective accolade.
Prior to the fixture’s dramatic end, Winners Connection took the early lead in the 33rd minute as Keon Sears netted from the penalty mark following a hand-ball infraction, blasting his powerful right shot into the lower right hand corner.
Winners Connection almost doubled their lead one minute later as Marmarlaque Davidson, upon stealing the ball on the right side, unleashed a powerful strike within the right side of the box, which was tipped over the crossbar by the keeper.
Topp XX eventually equalised in the 55th minute as veteran sharp-shooter Collie Hercules scored, slotting home into the empty net after an initial strike from within the box was parried in his direction.
With the score remaining unchanged, extra time was required to settle the outcome. This led to Topp XX taking the lead from the penalty mark in the 95th minute as Travis Watterton scored, rifling a powerful right-footed shot into the lower right hand corner following a handball infraction.
Nonetheless, Winners Connection pushed the fixture into penalties as Rawle Gittens scored three minutes onward, finishing past the advancing keeper from within the centre of the box, into the right hand corner.
In the championship matchup, Milerock downed Victoria Kings 4-3 on penalty kicks after normal and extra timed ended 1-1.
