Bull Bay striker Orrett Thompson about to make a strike on goal in their December 5th match up with Mountain View FC final score 1- 1

Super League Things got even more interesting at the top of the league following Saturday’s 13th round of matches in the Claro – KSAFA Super League competition. As is now customary the lead switched hands again but only based on goal difference as the top three find themselves all locked up on 28 points each, following victories by both Rae Town and Santos in their games, while Cavalier played to a draw in their game.

The results mean that Rae Town moved back to the top with a +21 goal difference, last week’s leader Cavalier slipped to second (+14) and Santos remaining third (+12). However tied on points and with each team having another nine sets of matches left to play, I am sure that none of the top three would be too upset at the position in which they currently find themselves.

Santos F.C. vs. Duhaney Park F.C. – Bell / Chung Stadium

In their fixture home team Santos (with only one substitute on its bench) got the better of their Duhaney Park opponents (who had one substitute more), after edging them 2 – 1. The game started at a fairly brisk pace with both teams trading one attack after another, and so it was no surprise that the opening goal came in the 14th minute of play.

Santos took the lead from a right side free kick awarded for an infringement just on the outside of their opponent’s 18 yard box. Captain Fabian Nethersole then stepped up to kick the ball past a poorly constructed defensive wall and into the near post of the visitor’s goal, brushing the outstretched hand of custodian Omar Williams on the way.

There after Duhaney Park took over the game and Horace Wilson should have equalized in the 17th minute, but headed over the crossbar unchallenged six yards from goal. The visitors didn’t have long to wait for an equalizer though after Dwayne Atkinson of Santos gifted them a penalty in the 21st minute.

Atkinson in an attempt to clear a ball mis-kicked then panicked and pulled down an opponent who was trying to get the ball under control. Goalkeeper Williams then rocketed the ensuing spot kick past his opposite number Denzil Isaacs for the equalizer.

After the goal the visitors continued pressing forward and Delroy Johnson missed a good chance in the 28th minute. A minute later Orlando Barrett’s scorching shot was parried by Isaacs into the path of Wilson who from eight yards kicked straight at Isaacs who was more than happy to deflect the ball for a corner kick.

Johnson then missed another opportunity from the resulting corner kick and Barrett had another attempt save by Isaacs in the 30th. They would shortly see the importance of those missed opportunities, when their custodian Williams left his lines but mishandled a cross and a fast thinking Peter Gordon with his back to goal, lobbed the ball over his head and into an unprotected goal in the 36th minute to restore their lead.

The second half lacked the excitement of the first and only a 20 yard shot from Romar Brown straight to Williams in the 64th minute was worthy of mention for Santos. Meanwhile Kimari Dixon, Trevor Thorpe Ricardo Smith, Barrett and Wilson all missed opportunities for Duhaney Park in the 70th, 77th, 88th, 89th and 90th minutes of the game.

Meadhaven United vs. Rae Town F.C. – Michigan Field

Rae Town scored the largest margin of victory in this round of matches after trouncing host Meadhaven United 5 – 0 in their game. Led by four goals from the league’s most prolific scorer Damian Jackson (10th, 16th, 43rd & 65th) and another by James Durrant (25th) they “spring boarded” themselves back to the summit, while although loosing Meadhaven maintained their 11th position in the league on six points.

Marverley / Hughenden F.C. vs. Mountain View F.C. – Marverley Playfield

At Marverley visitors Mountain View recorded consecutive victories with a 4 – 0 thrashing of their host. The goals were scored by Kevin Blair (33rd), Ricardo Reid (51st), Troyland Williams (81st) and Glendon Johnson in the third minute of time added on for stoppages. The win pushed Mountain View 22 points and two places up to fourth.

Real Mona F.C. vs. Constant Spring F.C. – Buttercup Park

Host Real Mona came from a goal down to edge Constant Spring 2 – 1 in their encounter. Michael Mitchell (42nd) and Leroux Lothian (64th) were the scorers for Mona, while Romario Wright (7th) got the visitor’s consolation goal. Real Mona who was recording their second victory in a week moved to 17 points and one place up to seventh in the points standing, while Constant Spring remained on 21 points but slipped to fifth.

Jamaica Defence Force S.C. vs. Cavalier S.C. – Up Park Camp

After Julian Nugent’s goal gave them the lead on the stroke of halftime, Cavalier were held to a 1 – 1 draw by the JDF team, following a 59th minute equalizer by Robert Wright. Although both teams moved up by a point (Cavalier 28 and JDF 21) they both slipped a place down in the standings to second and sixth respectively.

Bull Bay F.C. vs. Barbican F.C. – “Bull Pen”

Barbican dropped a place down to eighth and host Bull Bay inched a little further from relegation and maintained ninth place following their 1 – 1 draw in their fixture at the “Bull Pen”. The visitors opened the scoring in the 27th minute from a Troy Clue goal, but Adrian Harrison equalized for Bull Bay in the 59th minute. Barbican moved up to 16 points while Bull Bay moved to 11.

The feature game of the round will be aired on TVJ Sports Network on Monday and Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. each night.

Major League

All Claro Major League games that were scheduled for Saturday December 26th were rescheduled and will now be played on Tuesday December 29th. The games are Coorville Gardens vs. Molynes United at Coorville, Rockfort F.C. vs. Greenwich Town F.C. at Rockfort, Central Kingston F.C. vs. UWI F.C. at Winchester Park, Brown’s Town F.C. vs. Whitfield Town F.C. at Vauxhall and Swallowfield United vs. Olympic Gardens F.C. at the Stadium East field. All games are scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.