Premier League stalwarts Brittons Hill and Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) have successfully steered their way to the final of the inaugural Barbados Football Association’s Williams Equipment Pre-season Cup with flattering results on Sunday night at the Police Sports Club, Weymouth.
Despite winning 4-1 in the first leg of their semi-final, Brittons Hill were made to labour for a 2-2 draw against Premier League newcomers Abrahams United Silver Sands while BDFSP made light work of a languid Crane & Equipment Ellerton side to win by 1-0 and advance with a 3-1 aggregate scoreline.
In the first semi-final of the night, BDFSP started the game well and wasted an early opportunity which would have changed the contest considerably. Midway through the half, however, referee Gillian Martindale awarded Ellerton a penalty for a clear foul in the box and the opportunity to draw level with the soldiers on aggregate after BDFSP’s 2-1 win last week.
Talisman Shakille Belle was entrusted with that endeavour but the slight stutter in his run-up failed to bamboozle BDFSP goalkeeper Kishmar Primus, who guessed the right way, to his right, to break Ellerton hearts and keep his team’s aggregate lead intact.
Ellerton then committed a painful error five minutes before the half time break when Tshane Lorde, following some good work on the left wing, delivered a dangerous cross, which Damien Walcott inadvertently sliced into his own net, even wrong-footing goalkeeper Kerry Holder in the process, to inflict further punishment on the St George lads.
With Ellerton’s morale depleted, BDFSP carefully saw out the second half game to win 1-0 and a place in the final.
The second semi-final featured Silver Sands side, not expected to be much of a threat in their second leg battle with Brittons Hill after suffering a 4-1 thrashing in the reverse fixture.
In a quite physical battle for passage to the final where referee Norman Greaves was kept quite busy, producing nine yellow cards, Silver Sands started the brighter of the two teams, pressing high, retaining possession and creating scoring opportunities.
With a massive deficit to overcome, Silver Sands were then dealt the unfortunate blow of having to replace a player after 11 minutes with what appeared to be a serious injury. Nevertheless, they were the superior team after the resumption and took a deserved lead in the 23rd minute when Troy Johnson beautifully controlled a lovely pass played over the defence to strike a powerful shot which the goalkeeper could only deflect into his net.
Despite their opponents’ pressing, Brittons Hill managed to cope and their diligence was rewarded in the 42nd minute when Denzil Fordyce smashed past the Silver Sands custodian to restore the aggregate advantage.
The second half commenced with the teams still level and the situation looking even more mountainous for Silver Sands. Their woes worsened in the 69th minute when Dante Greenidge was felled in the box, leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Rohan Hall stepped up to convert calmly from 12 yards putting the final even more out of reach for Silver Sands.
Troy Johnson would have the final say though, as his second goal three minutes later could only restore parity and pride on the night. (NM)
