It will be all to play for when the inaugural MCYS/East Bank Inter-Village Football Tournament, organised by Sports Extra, resumes on Thursday night at the Eccles EE Ground with the penultimate day of group action.
When play was halted due to unusual rainfall, of the twelve contesting villages, only Grove and Upper Soesdyke had sealed their places in the final eight, where the knockout format will commence following round-robin play.
Group B action gets underway on Thursday evening from 19:00 hrs when Swan face off with Lower Soesdyke in a high-stakes clash. Lower Soesdyke are in a must-win situation, having lost their lone match so far to Herstelling, which lost their second and final group match to Swan.
A win for Swan will seal their quarter-final spot and also ensure Herstelling’s passage to the knockout round. However, a Lower Soesdyke victory will see goal difference come into play to determine the top two teams from the group who will advance.
The feature game is a Group A encounter between the undefeated Kuru Kururu and Mocha, who must win to have a chance of knocking out Agricola, which defeated Mocha but lost to Kuru Kururu.
Mocha will have to draw on all their experience and hope that the lads from the Soesdyke-Linden Highway-based Kuru Kururu have an off night to stand a chance of advancing. Kuru Kururu defied the odds in the competition’s opening game to brush aside Agricola 3–1.
When under pressure, Agricola battled their way to a 3–1 triumph against Mocha, setting up an intriguing final match-up in the group.
The final two group matches, which will determine the quarter-final fixtures, will be played on Saturday at the same venue.
Friendship, which edged Kaneville in their opening clash, will be seeking to maintain that form when they oppose Timehri, which were stunned by Kaneville. This will be another high-stakes showdown, as a win for Friendship will seal their progression while also securing Kaneville’s.
On the other hand, a victory for Timehri will see goal difference come into play to decide the top two villages. The final round-robin match will feature Grove against Upper Soesdyke in a battle to determine which of the two villages will top Group C, as both defeated Circuitville by 7–2 and 1–0 margins, respectively.
In the knockout phase, the winner of Group A will face the runner-up of Group C, the winner of Group B will take on the runner-up of Group A, the winner of Group C will face the runner-up of Group D, while the Group D winner will meet the runner-up of Group B.
Villagers are encouraged to come out in their numbers to cheer on their respective teams. The first prize is set at $1 million, while second-, third- and fourth-place prizes are $500,000, $250,000 and $150,000 respectively, along with individual awards for Best Goalkeeper, Most Valuable Player and Highest Goalscorer.
