Sparta Boss will represent Guyana at the Guinness Caribbean championships in Jamaica after edging North Ruimveldt 2-1 in the grand finale of the Guinness Greatest of the Streets National Championships on Sunday.
A mammoth crowd at the Demerara Park Tarmac witnessed the East La Penitence outfit securing their maiden title in a thrilling finale through goals from Sheldon Shepherd and Devon Millington in the sixth and 17th minutes respectively.
On target in the loss was Joshua Browne in the 20th minute.
With the win, Sparta Boss also claimed the $500,000 first prize and the championship accolade.
North Ruimveldt received the second place trophy and $250,000.
Entering the matchup very confident following their 1-0 semi-final win over West Front Road, the East La Penitence side would be denied as early as the second minute from taking the lead as Millington unleashed a powerful right footed strike that crashed into the right upright.
Shepherd would also signal his dangerous intention early, dragging his right footed effort just wide of the left corner from just in front of the box one minute later as Sparta began to boss the matchup.
Travis Grant almost stole the lead for North Ruimveldt in the fourth minute, turning and lashing his right footed effort from the centre of the field, marginally wide of the left hand corner post.
With the warning shots already sounded, Sparta Boss would penetrate the North Ruimveldt rearguard as Shepherd, upon racing onto a cheeky Dennis Edwards flicked pass from right side of the field, blasted his first time effort down the middle of the net, sending his team’s supporters into a frenzy.
Stunned by the sudden concession, North Ruimveldt almost restored parity in the 12th minute in a sublime manner as Gerald Gittens unleashed a right footed thunderbolt from the halfway mark which was desperately denied by the leg of the final defender Jermin Weekes.
With their lead intact going into the second stanza, Millington almost doubled his side’s advantage in the 16th minute, forcing a smart save from the final defender as his powerful right sided effort seemed destined to settle into the top left hand corner.
Like Shepherd before him, Millington would made his presence felt one minute later with a powerful conversion, placing his effort into the centre of the goal following a one-on-one situation, after racing down the centre of the field.
The matchup would then tuned on its head as Joshua Brown pulled one back three minutes onward, stabbing home into the right corner from just outside the area, evoking screams from their gathering.
Forced on the back-foot for the remaining minutes, Sparta Boss would survive to clinch the title in the tense finish as Rickford Jones was denied desperately by the legs of final defender Weekes in the 29th minute.
The third place playoff witnessed West Front Road-Gold is Money dismissing Showstoppers by a 6-1 margin. Nathan Allicock gave Showstoppers the early lead in the sixth minute, placing his left footed shot into the centre of the goal.
From there on however it was all West Front Road Gold is Money.
Hubert Pedro would equalise in the 15th minute with a first time finish into the roof of the goal, after collecting a left sided pass on the right side of the field.
Michael Pedro would then give West Front Road the lead one minute later, slotting his effort into the back of the net from the centre of the field, after collecting a left sided pass from Randolph Wagner.
The score line would continue to balloon in the favour of West Front Road as Michael Oie scored in the 18th minute with a simple finish into the right hand corner.
Michael Pedro would put the fixture further beyond the reach of Showstoppers in the 23rd minute, netting with a right footed finish down the centre of the goal through the legs of the final defender.
With the matchup already decided, West Front Road would complete the demolition job as Wagner and Jamal Pedro scored in the 25th and 26th minutes respectively. For their efforts, West Front Road received $150,000 and the third place trophy while Showstoppers collected $100,000 and a trophy.
In the earlier semi-final round, Sparta Boss edged fierce rivals West Front Road-Gold is Money 1-0.
Shepherd sealed the win in the eighth minute, blasting his effort down the centre of the goal from left side of the field, while in the other semi-final, North Ruimveldt sealed their place in the final after dismantling Showstoppers 3-0.
Grant opened the scoring in the 21st minute, turning and finishing into the roof of the net while being challenged from behind by the final defender just in front of the penalty area.
Colin Daniels would then make it 2-0 in the 28th minute with a first time finish into the centre of the goal, after racing onto an initial right sided attempt from Grant.
The win would then be sealed one minute later as Grant completed his double, rifling his effort with the outside of his right foot into the centre of the goal 13 yards out, following a swift counterattack.
Prior to the commencement of the final, Caribbean Skill Ball Champion Mark Taylor entertained the crowd with his deft freestyle abilities.
