THE fourth edition of the Corporate Warfare Futsal knockout tournament ,in collaboration with Timeout Entertainment, kicked off at the Beausejour Indoor Practice Facility (BIPF) on Saturday evening, with wins for WASCO and Bel Jou Hotel.
Following a march past of teams, in the first encounter, the utility company WASCO signaled their intention that they must not be taken for granted as they trounced Saint Lucia Teachers Credit Corporative Union 6-2.
Ahmez Chandler opened the flood gates for WASCO in the 5th minute; Garvin Phillip quickly made it 2-0 in the 8th minute. Three minutes later Nehemiah Wilfred pulled one back for SLTCCU to make it 2-1; former national striker Valdez Maximin scored a beauty, perhaps the best goal in that encounter to make it 3-1 in the 14th minute and despite several scoring opportunities at either end of the BIPF the scoreline remained the same in favor of WASCO.
On the resumption, it was much as the first half when Cyntus Edwin put WASCO further ahead in the 31st minute with a right foot shot (4-1). WASCO continued on their merry way on centre court and with their crowd support there was no letting their foot off the gas pedal and in so doing Richard Annius struck in the 38th minute of play making it 5-1; SLTCCU quickly responded when Nehemiah Alfred scored his second within seconds of Annius goal (38th minute according to the referee), but there was still time left on the clock only for Annius to score his second in the 40th minute to end the match 6-2.
It must also be noted that the eight goals scored were quality ones and certainly speak volume of the level of play exhibited by both teams.
In game No. 2, the Bel Jou Hotel defeated the Bankers Association 3-2 in an exciting penalty shootout after the scoreline remained 2-2 at the end of regulation time. The Bankers opened the scoring to the surprise of many Bel Jou Hotel supporters as they were certainly looking the better team on the night, and to add insult to injury, the Bankers had only 1 substitute on the bench when the game started.
Jason Gustave opened the scoring for the Bankers in the 7th minute, and despite Bel Jou many attempts to goal with their starting five which included – Ellisha Constance, Dean La Force, Shervon Nicholas, Trevon St.Prix and Romiel Felix, the bankers made life difficult for them as the scoreline remained 1-0 up until the half time whistle of Leo Clarke and Andre Phillip.
Following the halftime break, Bel Jou known for their fast pace game upped the tempo a few notches and in so doing, Dean La Force found the much deserved equalizer in the 26th minute; with their supporters in the stands chanting away, they quciky got another from the boots of Phillip Ishmael in the 29th minute to make it 2-1.
Like the saying goes, it’s not over until it’s over, Jason Gustave scored on the night for Bankers Association in the 40th minute to send the game into a penalty shootout which Bel Jou won 3-2.
Matches continue on Friday 14th at the BIPF, from 6.30 p.m. FLOW versus Beachcomber; Royalton will come up against BuiltecInc at 7.30 p.m., Saint Lucia Teachers Union takes Unicomer (Courts Saint Lucia) at 8.30 p.m. ; while the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force takes on Top Ranking Electricals at 9.30 p.m.
On Saturday 15th, four matches on the evening card, Windjammer versus DBC from 6.30p.m., Sandals Grande will be up against Saint Lucia Civil Service Cooperative Credit Union at 7.30 p.m., CPJ will fancy their chances against Small Business Owners at 8.30 p.m. and to bring the curtains down on an exciting weekend of football, 1-888 Go Answer versus Ministry of Infrastructure at 9.30 p.m.
