St Andrew continued their impressive early tournament form with yet another win to clinch a second-round berth with a 3-1 triumph over St George North on Saturday night, the penultimate night of group matches in the David Thompson Memorial Constituency Councils Football Classic that were played at the James Bryan Complex.
A Jomo Harewood brace, sandwiched by a Dario Alleyne strike, proved more than enough as St George North’s reply came from the boot of Argyle Richards on the half-hour.
At Gall Hill, St James Central had a record-breaking win, pummelling St Joseph by a whopping 14-1 scoreline. An extraordinary six goals by Hadan Holligan, coupled with hat-tricks for Damonn Ifill and Mario Albert, plus a brace from Devon Gibson meant that St Joseph’s reply from Nicholas Nicholls was purely academic.
In the later game, an air of normality was resumed when St John overcame St Lucy by a 3-0 scoreline, with strikes from Akeem Rouse, Deago Gittens, and a Ryan Griffith own goal.
The evening’s feature game lived up to expectations, as home side St George North came into the encounter on six points, desperate to advance with a win.
St Andrew, on the other hand, having already collected nine points, were determined not to let their momentum slip and came out of the traps flying, all of which made for exciting viewing as an end-to-end affair ensued in the Saturday night rain.
It was the home side who eventually broke the deadlock to the delight of the substantial home support. A slick passing move saw St George North make their way from deep in midfield and out to the right wing. The influential Shaine Hermas was eventually fed at the edge of the penalty area and brilliantly wiggled his way past two defenders before managing to squeeze off a dipping shot under pressure.
Goalkeeper Bentley Springer was only able to parry Hermas’ strike, allowing an alert Richards the time he needed to slide in and bundle home the loose ball to register the most precious of openers for his side.
St Andrew were well in the game even at 0-1, though, and continued to play their natural passing game despite falling behind. They were rewarded five minutes before the interval when an inch-perfect pass from Shakir Skeete to the right wing found Ramal Holder in acres of space.
The wide man did not hesitate to attack the space after collecting Skeete’s pass, powering past his marker and into the area before being brought down.
Referee Troy Thorpe immediately pointed to the spot, extending the opportunity for Harewood to draw St Andrew level. He stepped up and made no mistake, calmly slotting the ball past Brandon Walcott into the bottom left corner to make it 1-1 in the 40th minute.
St Andrew followed up their goal five minutes before the half with another five minutes after, coming out with guns blazing following the interval and subsequently surging ahead.
They added another and effectively broke St George North’s spirit just ten minutes later when a mixture of fortune and brilliance combined to provide the third goal. (ML)
