Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ Championship
In front of a boisterous home crowd at the Pouderoyen Tarmac, West Bank Demerara, Showstoppers became the first team from the East Bank/West Demerara division to be crowned the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ National Champion, dispatching Georgetown champions Laing Avenue 3-0 in the final on Friday night.
Cheered on by their large fan base, Showstoppers romped to victory with Amos Ramsay banging in a second-half brace in the 20th and 25th minutes to build on Stephon Jupiter’s 18th-minute opener.
The sweet taste of victory was further strengthened with the million-dollar winner’s purse and the championship trophy. While the 3-0 defeat was sure to sting, a $500,000 runners-up prize softened the blow for Laing Avenue.
In the buildup to the final, North Ruimveldt out of the Georgetown zone needled the Silver Bullets of Linden in the third-place playoff, with Aeon Alleyne’s 18th-minute goal deciding the outcome.
With the win, North Ruimveldt pocketed $300,000, while Silver Bullets walked away with $200,000 and a trophy for their troubles.
Enroute to the final, Showstoppers had come out on top of Silver Bullets by a 3-1 margin in the second semifinal, as Marvin Josiah, Dexroy Adams, and Daren Benjamin all found the net in the seventh, 11th, and 17th minutes, respectively. Colwyn Drakes was the man on target for the losers in the eighth minute.
In the first semifinal, Laing Avenue and North Ruimveldt needed penalty kicks to decide a winner, with the former progressing 2-1 on penalty kicks after a dreary stalemate in regulation time.
In the quarterfinal fixture, Showstoppers sank Mighty Ruler 1-0, with Jupiter grabbing the game’s only goal in the eighth minute.
Meanwhile, Laing Avenue had edged Hustlers 2-0 on penalty kicks after normal and extra time ended scoreless.
Silver Bullets, on the other hand, saw off East Bank Gunners of Berbice, while North Ruimveldt got the better of Ballerz Empire of East Bank Demerara 2-1 on penalty kicks after regulation time could not determine a winner, ending 0-0.
In the opening encounter of the night, Liliendaal Hustlers dismissed All-Stars of Essequibo 3-0 as Raushan Ritch stuck in a ‘Guinness Goal’ (GG) [a goal scored in the final three minutes of normal time counts as two] in the 20th minute. Earlier in the game, Sunil Logan had gotten things going with a 14th-minute goal.
Complete Results
Guinness Goal – (GG) – 2 goals
Final
Showstoppers-3 vs. Laing Avenue-0
Amos Ramsay-20th and 25th
Stephon Jupiter-18th
3rd Place
North Ruimveldt-1 vs.
Silver
Bullets-0
Eon Alleyne-16th
Semifinal-1
North Ruimveldt-0 vs.
Laing
Avenue-0
Laing Avenue won 2-1 on
penalty kicks
Semifinal-2
Showstoppers-3 vs.
Silver
Bullets-1
Showstoppers scorers
Marvin Josiah-7th
Dexroy Adams-11th
Daren Benjamin-17th
Silver Bullets scorer
Colwyn Drakes-8th
Quarterfinal-1
East Bank Gunners-0 vs.
Silver Bullets-0
Silver Bullets won 2-1 on penalty kicks
Quarterfinal-2
Ballerz Empire-0 vs. North
Ruimveldt-0
North Ruimveldt won 2-1 on
penalty kicks
Quarterfinal-3
Mighty Ruler-0 vs.
Showstoppers-1
Stephon Jupiter-8th
Quarterfinal-4
Laing Avenue-0 vs.
Hustlers-0
Laing Avenue won 2-0 on penalty kicks
Playoff
Hustlers-3 vs. All-Stars-0
Raushan Ritch-GG-20th
Sunil Logan-14th
