Rendezvous and Home Improvement Hardware Waterford Compton staged an eight-goal thriller during a 4-4 draw in a bottom of Zone 2 meeting in the Barbados Football Association’s Premier League on Sunday night.
In the other clashes, Clayton’s Kola Tonic Notre Dame left it late to edge local rivals Brittons Hill United 1-0 and UWI Blackbirds finally gained their first win of the season via the same scoreline over Crane & Equipment Ellerton.
The first of three games at the Wildey Astroturf featured two clubs struggling for form and points: Rendezvous and Waterford Compton.
With both teams viewing this match as a viable opportunity for their first league win this year, the tempo was ferocious from kick-off.
Captain Rommel Bynoe put Rendezvous ahead as early as the sixth minute after being played in behind the Compton defence by a superb through ball by club stalwart Paul “Soup” Lovell.
Christopher Shepherd Jr doubled his team’s lead in the tenth minute after some persistent work by Nicholas Jones on right wing.
The evergreen Sheridan “Rudi” Grosvenor pulled one back for Compton in the 14th minute when his on-target header was deflected into the net beyond Rendezvous custodian Anderson Emmanuel.
Shepherd restored Rendezvous’ two-goal cushion with a laser beam of a shot only a minute later, planting seeds of doubt in the Compton players’ minds.
Emmanuel erased some of that doubt after his crucial gaffe in the 21st minute allowed Kishmar Wade to bring his team closer to Rendezvous.
A resurgent Compton equalised when Rohan Hewitt, through on goal, was brought down by Emmanuel. The referee allowed play to continue and Stepane Longville converted the game’s sixth goal in the 25th minute.
Five minutes later, Longville gave Compton the lead and the impetus to go on and win with a fine long range effort but Rendezvous roared back right on the stroke of half-time, with Shepherd completing his hat-trick and concluding a stunning first half of eight goals and even more chances.
In the second half, the teams were far more cautious and as the period wore on and legs grew tired, it became very difficult to see either side pulling ahead, and it ended with honours even.
In the 6 p.m. kick-off, Notre Dame secured a late 1-0 victory over Brittons Hill.
Notre Dame were without the services of forwards Antoine Greaves and Zeco Edmee and offered little in attack for most of the game.
However, inspired substitute Daniel Rowe neatly tucked the ball under goalkeeper Shaquille Frank in the 89th minute to send Notre Dame up to second in Zone 1 with nine points from five games.
In the nightcap encounter, a 58th minute penalty conversion by Mustafa Haqq proved to be the only goal, giving UWI Blackbirds their first victory of the season at their fifth attempt.
Haqq, deployed further upfield by coach Fabian Massiah than in previous matches, was a thorn in Ellerton’s side.
UWI had earlier spurned a golden chance to take the lead when they were awarded a penalty but former Belfield captain Alvin Chapman was off-target. (NM)
