Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ West/East Bank Demerara
The highly anticipated rematch from the previous year’s final of the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ West/East Bank Demerara Zone saw title holders Ballerz Empire defend their championship with a 2-0 win over Showstoppers on Friday night at the Pouderoyen Tarmac.
The intriguing contest, which drew what was easily the biggest crowd of the season, saw high octane and end-to-end action as Ballerz Empire had their biggest test yet. After regulation time failed to produce a winner, the contest headed into extra time, and Nicholas MacArthur delivered the decisive strike deep into extra time.
In fact, MacArthur’s well-taken goal was all the more important, as it was a ‘Guinness Goal’ (GG) [a goal scored in the final three minutes of normal time or the final two minutes of extra time counts as two] netted in the 48th minute to spark jubilant celebrations from Ballerz Empire and their supporters.
Meanwhile, speaking on the sidelines of the final, Guinness Brand Executive Lee Baptiste expressed satisfaction with the West/East Bank Zone, saying that it was “a very successful tournament.”
“We had four exciting days of football, and the team that won last year was successful again, and it was a very exciting final.”
Baptiste also revealed that the brand has been promoting the sub-meets of the tournament and noted that the response from the fans has been tremendous.
With the National Playoffs also returning this year, in September, at the Pouderoyen Tarmac, Baptiste envisions a much larger turnout in terms of crowds.
With the tournament done and dusted, Ballerz Empire cashed out $400,000 and the championship trophy. They have also earned an automatic berth to the national championship. On the other hand, Showstoppers pocketed $300,000 and the runners-up accolade.
Earlier in the night, Cayenne Massive defeated the Pouderoyen Brothers 1-0 on penalty kicks after full-time could not produce a winner in the third-place playoff.
successfully defending their Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ West/East Bank Demerara title following a 2-0 win over Showstoppers
With the third-place win, Cayenne Massive walked away with $150,000 and the corresponding accolade, while the Pouderoyen Brothers pocketed $100,000 and the respective trophy.
The Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ season will now move on to the Bartica leg, which is slated for August 24th – 25th. Meanwhile, the national championship will be staged at the Pouderoyen Tarmac on September 6th.
Complete Results
Guinness Goal-(GG)-2
Goals
Final
Ballerz Empire-2 vs.
Showstoppers-0
Nicholas MacArthur-
GG-48th
3rd Place
Cayenne Massive-0 vs. Pouderoyen Brothers-0
Cayenne Massive won 1-0 on penalty kicks
