The title race may just be over in the Digicel Premier League.
Defending champs Barbados Defence Force Sports Programme (BDFSP) got extremely close to securing a repeat last Sunday edging title challengers Pride of Gall Hill 2-1 at the Empire Club, in Bank Hall.
Mackeson Brittons Hill mauled Magnum Tonic Wine Dayrells Road 7-0 to keep their hopes alive, while Weymouth Wales survived a couple scares to defeat Pharmaceutical Plus Cosmos 2-0.
A mere point separated BDFSP and Gall Hill, therefore a win for either team would have made the standings look quite interesting.
Gall Hill were missing a couple of key players in their starting eleven, notably defenders Ramar Millar and Oscar Nero.
BDFSP fielded their full platoon with a front three comprising Mario Harte, Jamal Chandler and Kyle Gibson.
It was an obvious sign of the coaching staff’s tactics of employing height for the subsequent wing play on the condensed field at Bank Hall.
But it was Gall Hill who broke the ice in the 17th minute. A precise pass from midfield split the BDFSP defence and national youth forward Shaquille “Zuka” Boyce raced onto to it, rounded custodian Dario Weir and tucked the ball into the net.
BDFSP never showed any signs of panic, however, and played a rather physical and intense game, constantly putting the Gall Hill defence under pressure.
The 2013 champions’ pressure paid off and they levelled the scores in the 25th minute. A cross from the right by Harte found Gibson arriving at the back post and his header sneaked in between the body of goalkeeper Omari Eastmond and the near post.
Former Gall Hill player Jamal Chandler then handed BDFSP the lead in the 55th minute in fantastic fashion. A cross from the left found him at the far post and he unleashed a ferocious half-volley which flew by Eastmond in lightning manner at the near post.
Gall Hill found it difficult to penetrate the stubborn BDFSP defence and rarely got chances on goal as the game ended 2-1, giving BDFSP a four-point lead with four games remaining.
In the blowout of the evening, Dayrells Road suffered the biggest loss of their 2014 campaign, at the hands of their neighbours Brittons Hill, who moved to 26 points.
Zidkigah Samuels grabbed a double, scoring from the penalty spot in the 18th minute and finishing off a fine solo effort in the 59th minute.
There was one goal each for forwards Travis Coppin (25th), Mustafa Haqq (48th), Walton Burrowes (71st), and midfielders Darnell Murray in the 77th and Jermaine Forde, who capped off the goal rout in the 89th minute.
Weymouth Wales did not repeat their flurry of goals against Cosmos but the three points were all that mattered.
Forwards Jadai Clarke and Tristan “Fishy” Parris ensured victory for Wales with strikes in the 60th and 90th minutes, respectively.
