by RENALDO GILKES

MPACT HAGGATT HALL staged the biggest upset of the season, while Premier League giants Claytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame returned to a familiar position on top of the Digicel Premier League on Tuesday night at the YMCA.

Haggatt Hall made light work of defending champions Barbados Defence Force (BDF), blanking them 4-1 compliments double-strikes from Karl Cole and Winston Pompey.

Outplayed

The Dames, on the other hand, had to pull several tricks out of the bag to overcome Chicken Lickin' Silver Sands 2-0, courtesy goals from Brian Neblett and national skipper Norman Forde.

Haggatt Hall completely outplayed the soldiers in every aspect of the game, especially in midfield, where Girvey Andrews was a tower of strength, orchestrating and directing every play like a true midfield general.

The first half was a rather dull one as both teams struggled to find a rhythm and just one goal was scored, by Haggatt Hall's Winston Pompey.

After the interval, BDF searched for the equaliser, and an opportunity came in the 67th minute when Haggatt Hall custodian Libert Stephenson was adjudged to have kicked a BDF player in the area.

Scramble

BDF skipper Greg Belle, a resident of Haggatt Hall, pushed the ball to Stephenson's right but the keeper parried it away. Cole made BDF pay for that miss in the 72nd minute, knocking the ball over the line after a goalmouth scramble.

The BDF stepped up their effort and applied a lot of pressure which resulted in a goal in the 76th minute this time from national defender Barry Skeete, who was, surprisingly, used as a striker.

He received a through pass from Jamar Watson and like a natural goalscorer slotted the ball past the advancing goalkeeper at the near post.

The goal did not seem to faze the Haggatt Hall lads, and Pompey got his second of the night in the 80th minute, when he ran onto a superb pass from Cole and hit home.

Cole finished it off in the 89th minute, beating the soldiers' offside trap and rounding custodian Kerry Holder to give Haggatt Hall a big win and a sniff of a chance of reaching the Super Eight.

The feature game between Silver Sands and Notre Dame showcased a midfield battle between Forde and Silver Sands skipper Paul "Soup" Lovell.

Omission

The Dames started almost the same XI which featured in their loss to neighbours Brittons Hill on Sunday, the one noticeable omission being that of John Hawkesworth who had an outstanding game Sunday.

His midfield spot was taken by defender Leon Todd, who had a rather strong game in his new position.

The Dames took the lead in the eighth minute when Neblett received a cross from Rudy Grosvenor and drilled a low, powerful shot past keeper Rhawn Cox.

With Hawkesworth absent, Forde picked up full midfield responsibility and showed why he is the island's best player with his tantalising tricks and range of skills. In a tight, physical game with few opportunities at goal, the midfield maestro helped give Dames the edge.

He sealed three points and first position in the league for the Dames when he put away a rebound after Cox failed to hold a stinging Jeffrey Williams shot in the 92nd minute.