Raiders, Patentia Street Ballers in upset wins

- ‘King of the Streets’ Football

West Demerara units Raiders and Patentia Street Ballers recorded the biggest upsets to date in the inaugural RDE Vibes and Sparta Boss ‘King of the Streets’ Football Tourney, downing hosts Sparta Boss and Sophia respectively on Tuesday.

In the finale of the evening at the Sparta Boss Tarmac in East La Penitence, Raiders squeaked past the home side by a 2-1 score line on sudden death kicks after a scoreless normal time interval.

With the organizers opting to utilize the sudden death penalty shoot-out rule for the event, the home side would be first from the mark in the form of Roberto Osbourne, who made no mistake as he fired his effort down the centre of the goal.

Unfazed by the home side’s conversion, the visitors would push the fixture into the second round as they netted calmly from the mark. With the pressure now back on the home side to convert, Sheldon Shepherd would fail to deliver as he fired his right-footed shot onto the right post.

The visitors quickly capitalised on the opportunity as they netted in their second attempt from the distance to seal the famous and unexpected win. Similarly, Patentia Street Ballers dismissed Sophia by a 2-0 margin in the fourth fixture of the night.

Levi Bradford led the winner with a first half double in the seventh and eight minutes. He opened the scoring with a left-footed strike down the centre of the goal from the middle of the field.

He would then seal the win moments later with another left-footed attempt from the right side of the field into the back of the net, after spotting the final defender off his goal-line. Similarly, clinching a victory was Bent Street who defeated Cross Street 1-0 in the sixth fixture.

Sheldon Profit separated the two sides in the 16th minute, bundling the ball into the back of the net from right side, after collecting a pass from the right side from Daniel Wilson following a two-on-one situation with the final defender.

Traditional giants Back Circle was also in the winners row, defeating West Demerara side Brothers United 1-0 compliments of a Kevin Boters eighth-minute strike.  Racing down the right side of the field during a two-on-one situation, the nippy Boters upon collecting a left-sided pass from Andy Duke, slotted his right-footed effort into the centre of the goal.

North Ruimveldt was also victorious on the evening, downing East Coast of Demerara giants Beterverwagting (BV) 2-1 on sudden death kicks after normal time ended 0-0.

Tasked with the first attempt from the distance, North Ruimveldt’s Joshua Browne would make no mistake as he buried his right-footed effort. The East Coast side then responded in equal measure as veteran marksman Delroy Dean converted with his left-footed shot.

With the pressure back on their shoulders going into the second round, North Ruimveldt refused to crack as Rickford James converted clinically down the centre with a right-footed shot, shifting the pressure back on their rivals.

Needing a conversion to keep the fixture alive, BV’s Akin Curry would fail to hit the mark as he placed his effort wide of the lower corner. Also claiming a 2-1 win via the sudden death route was East Ruimveldt who defeated Plaisance.

Unable to be separated following a scoreless regulation time, East Ruimveldt took the lead in the shoot-out as they netted in their first attempt from the mark. The East Coast of Demerara side quickly responded as they scored from their opening kick of the distance.

The Georgetown unit then retook the lead once more as they scored in their second attempt from the distance. Requiring a conversion to push the fixture into the third round of the shoot-out, the East Coast of Demerara side would seal their own fate as they missed from the mark.

In other results, East Bank of Demerara unit Mocha Ballers crushed West Demerara outfit Jetty Gunners by a 3-0 score line in the opening fixture while Upsetters edged West Back Road by a 1-0 margin in the second fixture.

Also claiming a win was Island All-Stars who defeated West Side Ballers via the walkover route. Action in the tournament is slated to continue at the same venue with another round of group fixtures tomorrow.

The winner of the tournament will walk away with $400,000 and the championship trophy while the second, third and fourth-place sides will receive $150,000, $80,000 and $20,000 correspondingly.