THE 2011 Digicel Premier League football title is still up for grabs and Mackeson Brittons Hill and ICE Wales got important victories at the National Stadium on Sunday night.
Brittons Hill sent a warning to those football fans that have already put Meridian Youth Milan’s name on the Premiership prize with a 2-0 whipping of Pride of Gall Hill.
National striker Riviere Williams rediscovered his goal-scoring touch with two brilliant goals in the 52nd and 68th minutes as Brittons Hill moved to 22 points, five adrift of leaders Youth Milan, who have a game in hand.
The Valery side capitalized on a ten-man Gall Hill team after defender Carlos Nicholls was red-carded in the 29th minute by referee Rayon Small for a serious foul play.
An excellent exchange of passes between Williams and fellow striker Walton Burrowes saw the deadlock broken after a goalless first half, with the former twice beating goalkeeper Omari Eastmond.
It wasn’t all Brittons Hill though as the youthful Gall Hill, who brought on the world-ranked junior tennis player Darian King for Ryan Griffith after the first goal was scored, should’ve netted in the last ten minutes. Jamal Chandler shot straight to goalkeeper Kerry Holder and Curtis Odle inexplicably side-footed his shot from eight yards past the left post.
Wales also remained in striking distance in third place, moving to 20 points, through a fortuitous 1-0 win over lowly Families First St John Sonnets, whose Damien Husbands scored an own-goal.But defending champs Claytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame and Paradise lost some ground after playing to a 2-2 draw in the feature match.
Paradise drew first blood in the 19th minute when Marcus Marshall hammered a loose ballpast goalkeeper Carlisle Gill, who was used between the upright as first-choice Kareem Farrell was benched after his mistakes in the last couple of matches.
But the Dames equalized within three minutes when national defender Barry Skeete’s weak clearance, struck an opposing player.
The ball fell nicely to 16-year-old Diquan Adamson, whose left-foot shot sailed into the far corner, over the head of Paradise’s 19-year-old custodian Mark Belgrave, doing duties for the injured Jason Boxhill.
The flashy Kadeem Latham almost put Paradise in the lead again but the goal-bound shot struck the upright.
Dames, who welcomed back Rommell Brathwaite in defence and Donovan Lavine in midfield, received a major setback five minutes before half-time when their play-maker John Hawkesworth suffered an injury and was replaced by Maradona Lavine.But lady luck smiled on them as Paradise were reduced to ten minutes after Jamar Thomas, who was booked for a stamping foul in the first half, got a second yellow card from referee Trevor Taylor for a challenge on Bryan Neblett.
Dames’ coach Albert Mapp refreshed his attack by inserting Zico Edmee and later David Forde for Adamson and DeCarlo Jemmott, who had missed a golden opportunity, scooping a left-foot shot wide from a precise pass by Maradona Lavine.
The move paid off in the 79th minute as Forde, after spending only four minutes on the pitch, finished off a trademark set play by the Dames. A long throw in by John Nobby Parris was headed on by Maradona Lavine and Forde delightfully tucked the waist-high ball through a crowded defence past Belgrave.
This time Paradise knotted the score within a minute with the play of the evening from midfielder Trevor Taj Mayers, who had played impressively, alongside veteran Kent Hall and Cody Mark in midfield, all night long.
Mayers weaved his way into the Dames’ penalty area, twisted and turned away from his marker, before dishing off a deft pass to Marshall, who drilled his 20-yard shot into the roof of the nets for his second goal of the match.
