A new champion will be crowned today in the Linden ‘Stag Bowl’ Inter-Ward Football tournament when Block 22 battles Silver City Valley and Alleys at the Mackenzie Sport Club (MSC) ground from 20:00hrs.
Silver City Valley and Alleys, led by a Delon Lanferman second half brace, dethroned defending champs Blue Berry Hill 3-1 to seal their berth in the grand finale.
With the score locked 1-1 in front of a sizable crowd, Lanferman made his presence felt as he fashioned two goals in as many minutes to send Blue Berry Hill packing from the contest.
Lanferman, a Golden Jaguars U23 international, scored in the 90th minute with a finish to the right side.
The conversion knocked the wind out the sails of the defending champs, who seemed determined and somewhat destined to continue the tense battle with their capable foe in the extra time interval.
The powerfully built forward then applied the final nail in the Blue Berry Hill coffin with a 90th+2 effort down the center of the net. It was a collapse of severe proportions, with the holders conceding three unanswered goals in the second half.
Prior to the dramatic end, Blueberry Hill seemed destined to secure consecutive berths to the final when Sheldon Holder opened the scoring in the 29th minute.
However, it became a game of two halves as Silvercity Valleys and Alleys netted the equaliser in the 64th minute through Shawn Waldron.
Next Block 22 defeated Silvertown/Canvas City and West Watooka Combined 3-1 on penalty kicks after the match ended 1-1.
Golden Jaguars stalwart Gregory ‘Jackie Chan’ Richardson gave Block 22 the lead in the 17th. However, veteran marksman Tony ‘Spirit’ Adams sent the matchup into extra time with a 67th minute goal.
The losing semi-finalists will face off in the third place playoff at 18:00hrs. The winner will receive $1,200,000 and the championship trophy, with $200,000 going towards a community-based project.
The runners-up will pocket $500,000 while the third and fourth place finisher will collect $300,000 and $150,000 respectively.
