All but one zone has been completed, with Merger becoming the latest team to qualify for the national play-off in the Guinness Street Football Challenge, after copping the North East Zone, at the Petit Bourg Recreation Ground yesterday.
This was done in controversial fashion, as Merger thought they were defeated on a sudden-death penalty by Ice Berg, then to learn that the latter team was disqualified for infringing the rules.
Ice Berg was adjudged to have played several players who had already competed in another zone in this year’s competition. Merger was in fact, in the same group (A) as Ice Berg and lost on another sudden-death penalty, in its only other defeat on the day.
Tau Jones, Nkosi Cummings and Leon Roberts scored the goals from Merger in the group stage, before Nicholas Edward scored the only goal which put the team which was clad in an AC Milan kit into the final of the competition.
The North East winner joins the South, East, Central and Tobago in the national final, which is scheduled to take place at the Jean Pierre Complex, Wrightson Road, on June 16. The final zonal challenge, the North-West, was set to be played yesterday at the Jean Pierre Complex.