By Duncan Saul
Tournament favourite Mighty Ruler emerged victorious in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Bartica Zone, defeating a gritty Misdemeanor outfit by a 1-0 score on Sunday night at the community centre ground.
The championship match, which was initially threatened by two power failures in the space of 15 minutes, which blanketed the venue in darkness, was decided by a moment of brilliance from Keron Spencer.
With the first half failing to separate the teams, Spencer, upon playing a one-two passing combination with his teammate, dribbled the onrushing defender before slotting into the back of the net. The aforesaid conversion proved decisive, as the score remained unchanged for the remainder of the contest.
As a result of the outcome, Mighty Ruler pocketed $300,000 and the championship trophy. They also earned an automatic berth to the national championship on September 6th at the Pouderoyen Tarmac, West Demerara.
On the other side, Misdemeanor walked away with $200,000 and the second-place accolade.
Prior to the final, Jones Avenue defeated Beachside 3-2 on penalty kicks following a scoreless regulation time interval in the third-place playoff.
With the result, Joanne’s Avenue received $100,000 and the corresponding accolade, while $80,000 and the fourth-place trophy were presented to Beachside.
Meanwhile, in the earlier semifinal segment, Mighty Ruler downed Beachside 4-2, while Misdemeanor brushed aside Jones Avenue 6-0.
In the initial quarterfinal round, Mighty Ruler battled Bad Boys 3-1, led by a brace from Oswin Joseph and a solitary conversion from Clint Kellman. For Bad Boys, Don Lam found the back of the net.
In similar fashion, Misdemeanor thumped Ruler Top Form 4-0. Cobi Jones scored twice, alongside conversions from Reon Hall and Kelon Benjamin, respectively.
Also, Jones Avenue squeaked past Avengers 1-0 via a Kyle Allan conversion in the extra time interval.
On the other hand, Beachside beat Police 2-1 on penalty kicks after regulation time ended 2-2.
The official draw for the national championship is pencilled for tomorrow at the Colours Boutique Robb Street branch.
Complete Results
Final
Misdemeanor vs. Mighty
Ruler-1
Keron Spencer-1
3rd Place
Jones Avenue-0 vs.
Beachside-0
Jones Avenue won 3-2 on
penalty kicks
Semifinals
Game-1
Beachside-2 vs. Mighty
Ruler-4
Game-2
Misdemeanor-6 vs. Jones
Avenue-0
Reon Hall-4
Alex Downer-2
Quarterfinal
Game-1
Police-2 vs. Beachside-2
Beachside won 2-1 on penalty kicks
Game-2
Mighty Ruler-3 vs. Bad
Boys-1
Mighty Ruler scorers
Oswin Joseph-2
Clint Kellman-1
Bad Boys scorer
Don Lam-1
Game-3
Avengers-0 vs. Jones
Avenue-1
Kyle Allan-1
Game-4
Misdemeanor-4 vs. Ruler Top
Form-0
Cobi Jones-2
Reon Hall-1
Kelon Benjamin-1
