Back Circle, Leopold Street into final

Guinness Greatest of the Streets…

Defending champions Back Circle and Leopold Street will contest the final of the Georgetown leg of the Guinness Greatest of the Streets football competition after the semis on Tuesday evening at the National Cultural Centre tarmac.
In two highly entertaining semi-final matches, both winners emerged with 1-0 victories to secure their spots in Saturday’s grand finale on the tarmac of the National Park.
Reigning champions Back Circle needled Broad Street B in what was a highly anticipated feature game of the night. Wayne Wilson netted the all-important goal in the 17th minute.
Golden Jaguars’ player Konata Manning was the star of the show in the other semi, converting a penalty in the 19th minute for Leopold Street against West Front Road.
In the other two games, which were part of the exhibition aspect of the tournament, Guinness Bar, through a Dennis Edwards’ goal in the third minute, edged GT Masters 1-0, while Upper Level and Clippers Barber Shops played to a one-all draw at the end of regulation time. Upper Level eventually won on penalties.
Kerwin Jackson had given Clippers Barber Shop the lead in the 10th minute, before Anton George equalised for Upper Level two minutes later.
Speaking to this publication after the semi-final games, one of the organisers, Marlan Cole, said that judging from Tuesday’s play, street football fans should gear themselves for a highly competitive final on Saturday. He stated that both teams are hungry for success.
Although the boys from Back Circle are no strangers to the big stage, having won the 2011 final and being runner-up in the Caribbean Street Challenge in June this year, their task will not be an easy one, as the lads from Leopold Street have been a surprise package in this year’s competition.
They have played extremely well to reach this point, and no doubt Back Circle would be cognizant of that fact and alter their game to counter whatever their opponents may put forward. Cole added that the tournament has progressed as planned, and the stakeholders are pleased with the cooperation of the teams and spectators in ensuring an incident free competition.
Over two million dollars in prizes will be at stake on Saturday evening with the champion team receiving Gy$600,000, second Gy$300,000, third Gy$200,000 and fourth Gy$100,000.
Meanwhile, the Linden, Berbice and Bartica legs of the competition are set to be launched soon. The champions of each leg will clash in a national playoff next year with the winner set to represent Guyana at the Guinness Caribbean Street Challenge later in 2013.