By Treiston Joseph
It was a roller coaster type of night on Tuesday when the inaugural Guinness Cage futsal kicked off with 16 knockout games at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue. The country’s top 32 futsal teams all converged at the Gymnasium for the new format of futsal and a thrilling night of action ensued with teams still trying to feel their way out with the new style of play.
The first upset of the night came when MBK All-Stars topped Sophia 3-0 in the opening and most one-sided match of the night. Peter George, Oswald Cornette and Kevon Lythcott scored goals in the fourth, eighth and 10th minutes respectively to win the match.
Ol Skool Ballers also put away a household name in the futsal arena, Broad Street, with a 2-1 win to continue the trend of upsets in the night’s action as teams struggled with the format of the tournament.
Roy Cassou and Darrell Quallis scored in the eighth and 10th minutes respectively to win the match, while Also Jervis scored in the 10th minute for Broad Street.
Pike Street also stunned Guinness National Street football champs, Dave and Celina’s All-stars, with a 2-0 penalty kick win after the game ended nil-all in regulation time. Tiger Bay was the first tournament favourite to come out with a win in the night’s action with a 2-1 win over Silver Bullets.
Tiger Bay used the walls well and was the first team to showcase some understanding of how to play the cage format of futsal. Deon Alfred scored both goals for Tiger Bay with strikes in the fourth and 10th minutes, while Jermaine Samuels had a goal in the sixth minute for Silver Bullets.
The night of upsets continued, this time with one of the top futsal teams, Bent Street, falling to Hustlers 1-0 after a fourth minute strike from Daniel Ross.
Meanwhile, Showstoppers took out Tucville with 1-0 win to advance to the group stage with a goal from Earl Thomas in the 11th minute. Top side Sparta Boss defeated Vryheid’s Lust 2-0 with goals from Sheldon Shepherd in the eighth and Gregory Richardson in the 10th.
In other results, Albouystown B defeated West Back Road via walkover, Leopold Street topped Plaisance 5-4 on sudden death kicks, North Ruimveldt defeated Melanie 1-0, Mocha topped North East La Penitence 1-0 on penalty kicks, Champion Boys defeated Channel-9 Warriors 2-0, Albouystown A defeated Alexander Village 1-0, Gold is Money topped Campbellville 2-0, Future Stars defeated Agricola Gas Team 1-0 on penalty kicks and Back Circle got the better of New Market Street 2-1 on penalties.
Action in the tournament will continue on Thursday (August 31) with eight group stage matches from 19:00h at the same venue.
The fixtures are as follows: Albouystown-B vs North Ruimveldt-19:00h; MBK All-Stars vs Leopold Street-19:30h; Hustlers vs Tiger Bay-20:00h; Albouystown-A vs Showstoppers-20:30h; Gold is Money vs Mocha-21:00h; Future Stars vs Pike Street Sophia-21:30h; Back Circle vs Champion Boys-22:00h; and Sparta Boss vs Ol Skool Ballers-22:30h.
