Courtesy: Stabroek News


Futsal Conquerors!

By Duane Fowler

Monday, September 3rd 2007

It the end it just to had to finish this way, it could not have been scripted better.

From one of the referees belting out the national anthem with gusto to a capacity crowd roaring its support and finally, a penalty shoot out between the two top teams in the competition with no one wanting to go home without the crown, the curtains came down on an impressive and maybe the most exciting local five-a-side competition on Saturday evening at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.

In the final of a tournament which has seen its fair share of excitement, superlative football and unsavoury incidents, Fruta Conquerors prevailed over the Guyana Defence Force 5-3 on penalty kicks after the scores were deadlocked 1 all at the end of regulation and 2-2 at the extra time whistle.

Conquerors opened up the game playing the crisper more attractive ball and dominating the early goings. Some early prestidigitation by the little magician Elroy Parks helped the lads from the Tucville ground hold sway early with Shawn Hescott sending Conquerors into the lead as early as the fourth minute. Conquerors continued owning most of the ball in the first half and closed the first period still enjoying a one goal advantage. The second half was an altogether different matter. The GDF, for their part, never claimed to be the prettier team, not even the better skilled but they are relentless. They kept coming at Conquerors using their superior conditioning and employing a shoot-from-anywhere strategy that saw shots being rained on the Conquerors goal from everywhere in the building.

They were kept at bay until Eusi Phillips, who might be in line for an army promotion given his heroics in the final, slipped one past the outstanding Conquerors goalkeeper off a set play for the equalizer. Utilizing their speed and superior fitness the army continued to press for the edge but Conquerors held on until the end of regulation whistle came signaling a further ten minutes of action. The two teams then continued to take it to each other on the backs of boisterous support from the capacity crowd half of which chanted "GDF" in support of the army and the other half responding without missing a beat "FRUTA" for the guys in orange. Conquerors looked to have beaten themselves by leaving Parks on the bench at such a crucial time with Phillips scoring what looked to be the decisive goal with only 2:36s left on the clock and the CASH erupted, some in joy others in frustration and despair. A short stoppage of play ensured with a few plastic bottles and one glass bottle being thrown onto the playing surface necessitating a clean-up operation by none other than the promoters themselves. However, the strict 'no glass bottle' policy employed since the resumption of the tournament proved to be effective in preventing further chaos as the stoppage was only for few minutes and the effects were limited. When play resumed Conquerors went goal hunting with the defense of the army, with all players in defence mode, resisting all attempts on goals. With less than a minute left it seemed all but decided, but the well worn phrase 'It ain't over till its over' is there for a reason. With 0.2 seconds left on the clock Conquerors were awarded a penalty but with the decibel levels in the building virtually drowning out referee Roy MacArthur's whistle the GDF and their fans erupted into celebrations not realizing that the game had one more twist. When order was restored Gerald Grittens, who had caused the second Phillips goal to be scored after getting the ball entangled between his legs in front of his own goal, stepped up to make amends and after kissing the football spotted it and calmly slotted home the equalizer into the right hand corner of the goal sparking even more frenzy. The see-saw affair might have been too much for the army and after conceding the first kick their goalkeeper rushed to return the favour only to miss the entire goal and set the stage for the Conquerors victory. In the end Fruta Conquerors scored all their kicks for a 5-3 wining margin and to claim the 300,000 thousand dollar first prize and first lien on the Banks DIH trophy. The GDF were left with the runners up prize of 100,000 dollars, a trophy, fifteen medals and great momentum for the next such assignment. Organizer Kashif Mohammed told Stabroek Sport that he was pleased with the level of entertainment and the quality of football on display during the competition. "It was very successful, we are glad to satisfy everyone involved including the fans and the players. It is unfortunate that one team had to lose but that is the game," Mohammed said.

He added that from the tournament the Guyana Football Federation will be looking to select a team for the Caribbean Football Union Futsal competition to be played in Guyana and said he looked forward to the challenge of playing a key role in the organizing of that event. Mohammed also expressed his regret at the low point of the tournament, the stabbing incident involving a spectator, saying he leant much from the experience and the public could look forward to more entertainment in sports in the future. In the third place playoff Santos edged Alpha United 5-4 in a nail biter to win 60,000 dollars, a trophy and fifteen medals. For Santos Renault Fraser led from the front with a double in the opening five minutes and he was ably supported by Leon Yaw who also scored twice, and Andy Duke. For Alpha United Sherwin Vincent had a hat trick on his way to fifteen goals in the tournament and the highest goal scorer award and he was backed up by a goal from Frank Dover in a losing cause. Overall the tournament was a story of two halves with the first portion being marred by the aforementioned incident while the second half was close to what football in Guyana desperately needed.

A positive shot in the arm, with good administration from Kashif Mohammed and Aubrey Major, good quality football, record crowds and entertainment galore.



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com