![Melanie-B goal scorer Odell Gulliver [center] trying to maintain possession while being sandwiched between two Liliendaal Hustlers players at the Haslington market Tarmac in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ East Coast Demerara Championship Saturday.](https://s1.stabroeknews.com/images/2019/04/gulliver15.jpg)
– Defending champs eliminated after group losses to Belfield Warriors, Paradise
A new champion will be crowned in the Guinness ‘Greatest of the Streets’ East Coast Demerara zone after the defending champions Uprising were sent packing on Saturday, following two group losses at the Haslington Market Tarmac.
The mammoth crowd which descended on the venue to support their team, left disappointed, as the youthful outfit were outmaneuvered in both of their matches, failing to display the imperious form which led to their reign.
In their opening match, Uprising went down to Belfield Warriors 0-1 on penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation time finish.
It went from bad to worse for the home side as they went down 0-1 to undefeated Paradise in their second fixture.
The must-win clash was decided by a 15th minute strike from Quincy Adams.
Meanwhile, Melanie-B, Paradise-A, Victoria Church Yard and Liliendaal Hustlers secured berths to the semi-final round.
Melanie-B earned their place in the final four after two victories. The first came via a 1-0 score against Liliendaal Hustlers compliments of an Odell Gulliver strike in the seventh minute.
They would then return to defeat Buxton Diamond 1-0 on penalty kicks following a scoreless regulation time finish
Similarly, Paradise defeated Victoria Church Yard 1-0. Tyreek Cummings found the back of the net in the sixth minute. The aforementioned victory preceded their win over Uprising.
Liliendaal Hustlers then upset the highly touted Beterverwagting [BV]-A 3-0 in a must-win clash to earn their semi-final position.
The victory, which was required by a two goal margin, was orchestrated by a ‘Guinness Goal’ [GG], (a goal scored in the final three minutes of normal time counts as two) in the 18th minute by Tevin Fowler and an eight minute strike from Stephon Reynolds.
Likewise, Church Yard defeated Belfield 1-0 in another must-win encounter. Rasleigh Morrison netted in the sixth minute. The semi-finals and final will occur on April 22nd at the same venue.
Paradise-A will match skills with Liliendaal Hustlers from 20:00hrs, with Melanie-B tackling Victoria Church Yard from 20:30hrs. The winners will advance to the championship match, with the losers facing off in the third place playoff.
Prior to the semi-final round, the Plate Championship will be kick-off proceedings. At 19:00hrs, Belfield Warriors will tackle Buxton Diamond while BV-A engages Uprising from 19:30hrs.
Winner of the event will pocket $400,000 and the winner’s trophy. They will also earn an automatic berth to the Guinness National Championship.
On the other hand, the runner-up will pocket $150,000 and the corresponding accolade, with the third and fourth place finisher receiving $100,000 and $75,000 respectively. The Plate Winner will receive $60,000.
