Sparta Boss, West Front Road-Gold is Money, Sophia and North East La Penitence secured contrasting wins when the group stage of the second annual GT Beer/Petra Organization Futsal championships commenced Tuesday.
Losing finalist in the inaugural edition, Sparta Boss overcame Agricola Champion Boys 1-0 in front of a mammoth crowd at the National Gymnasium on Mandela Avenue.
Devon Millington was the difference on the night unleashing a right foot shot from the left side of the field in the 20th minute which was parried into the lower left corner by the goalkeeper.
West Front Road made light work of West Back Road 3-0 with Jamal Pedro opening the scoring in the 11th minute, volleying into the roof of the net after an initial strike was parried into his path by the custodian.
Roy Cassou increased their lead one minute onward, rifling a powerful shot from the centre of the field into the lower left hand corner. The result was put to bed in the 22nd minute as Carl Tudor slotted under the advancing goalkeeper into the centre of the net from the left side of the field.
Meanwhile, Sophia sent a strong warning to the field, dismantling Albouystown 4-0. They were led by a double from Dwayne Lowe in the fifth and 16th minute. Adding to the rout were Sheik Kamal and Desmond Cottam who netted in the sixth and 12th minute respectively.
North East La Penitence then scored an upset 2-1 win over Tucville 2-1. Omallo Williams bagged a second half double in the 17th and 27th minute while Dennis Edwards scored a consolation goal for the losing team in the ninth minute.
In other results, defending champion Bent Street battled to a 2-2 draw with Broad Street Bullies. Kieron Solomon and Jamal Cozier were on target in the third and 23rd minute apiece for Broad Street while Dwight Peters and Colin Nelson scored for Bent Street in the sixth and 29th minute respectively.
Similarly, Back Circle and Tiger Bay fought to a 2-2 result. Sylvester Richardson and Stephon McLean scored in the 14th and 26th minute correspondingly for Back Circle while Alpha Fletchman and Deon Alfred netted in the 15th and 30th respectively for Tiger Bay. The event will resume on Saturday at the same venue with the second round group matches. At 19:30hrs, Tiger Bay oppose Agricola while Tucville engage West Back Road from 20:15hrs.
In the third matchup, Sophia opposes Broad Street at 21:00hrs while holders Bent Street lock horns with Albouystown at 21:45hrs. The final two fixtures will pit West Front Road-Gold is Money against North East La Penitence at 22:30hrs and Sparta Boss against Back Circle at 23:15hrs.
Upon the end of the round-robin stage, the top two finishers and the best two third ranked teams from the respective groups will progress to the quarterfinal phase.
Winner of the tournament will collect $400,000 and the championship trophy while the runner-up will pocket $200,000 and the corresponding accolade.
The third and fourth place finishers will collect $100,000 and $50,000 respectively and the respective accolade. The event is slated to conclude on April 15th.
To date the teams that have been eliminated from the competition are Leopold Street, Festival City, Kitty Weavers, North Ruimveldt, Channel-9 Warriors, Globe Yard, Hustlers, Showstoppers, Camp Street All-Stars, Stevedore Housing Scheme, Alexander Village and Campbellville.
