UNITY FC defeated Parry Town 1-0 to take the St Mary edition of the Guinness Street Football Challenge, held on Sunday at the Hi-Lo complex in Port Maria, with Danique Edwards scoring the winning goal to decide the sixth parish play-off.

Parry Town reached the final by defeating Bailey’s Vale 1-0 in the first semi-final, while Unity got by Esher in sudden death penalties after the teams had played to a 0-0 draw.

So huge was the response to the Guinness Street Football Challenge in St Mary that several teams had to be left out, with the organisers settling on 32 teams.

After the hard-fought rounds, the excitement-filled final game was a fitting climax to a competition.

For the win, Unity FC pocketed $200,000 and several other prizes including from sponsors Digicel credit, Guinness buckets and Gatorade. Dennis Neish walked away with the Golden Boot Award for scoring the most goals.

With the St Mary play-off decided, the organisers now have 24 of the 32 teams for the national finals on June 14, with all quarter-finalists (top eight) earning a spot in the finals.

The final play-off before the finals will take place May 31 at Red Stripe, 214 Spanish Town Road with the winner to pocket $300,000.

The finals will also have $300,000 up for grabs, with the beaten finalists set to take home $150,000 and third place, $50,000.

The Golden Boot winner at the finals will take home $50,000, up from the $20,000 being offered.

The Jamaica winners will represent the country in the Caribbean Finals, in which 11 countries will participate on June 27 and 28 at a venue yet to be decided.

The winner for the Caribbean Finals will earn US$6,000, second place US$3,000, third US$2,500, and fourth US$1,000. The Golden Boot winner will collect US$500.

Indeed, the event was more than football, pulling out residents from all across the parish to cheer on their favourite teams, finding the occasion an appropriate way to spend Mother’s Day.

“The Guinness Street Football Competition is much more than a football competition; it is a nation building initiative that unites communities in a sporting and entertainment spectacle like no other,” says Guinness brand manager Andrew Anguin.

“As we’ve travelled across the island, hundreds of footballers and thousands of spectators have turned out to enjoy the non-stop vibes from the best selectors in the business on our Guinness mobile music machines, top-class street football action and of course Guinness Stout served well cold all day.”

The event also presented opportunities for community members to earn income.

Devon Sinclair, the St Mary pan chicken champion, was happy that the Guinness Challenge had reached Port Maria.

“It’s an opportunity for people like myself to earn some money, yes man, a good, good opportunity,” Sinclair said of the occasion.

The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) second vice- president and president of the St Mary Football Association, Raymond Anderson, was happy for the competition.

“The JFF sanctioned it and as you see, we’re really enjoying it and I welcome them to the parish of St Mary,” Anderson stated.