St George’s 1

Hamilton Parish 1

Ijahmon Mallory’s late penalty spared high-flying Hamilton Parish’s blushes against landlords St George’s Colts at Wellington Oval yesterday.

St George’s took the lead early in the second half through Dominique Lambert’s opportunistic strike, but just when it seemed as though they had done enough to secure maximum points they threw them away by conceding a senseless penalty in the 88th minute to allow Parish a way back in.

Casey Castle, the Parish winger, gained possession of a long ball played inside St George’s’ penalty area but was not an immediate threat as his path to goal was blocked, forcing the player to go wide.

However, with his back to goal, Castle was recklessly floored by Jordan Darrell, the St George’s full back, leaving referee Leroy Wilson no option but to point to the penalty spot after consulting with his assistant referee.

Several St George’s players argued in vain that the foul had been committed outside of the box to the match officials, among them Charles Marshall Jr, the goalkeeper, who picked up a yellow card for his outburst.

After cooler heads had prevailed, Mallory thumped the ball into the bottom left-hand corner to earn Parish a share of the spoils.

Things then quickly went from bad to worse for St George’s, and in particular a fired up Marshall, who picked up a second yellow card for showing dissent as Parish players celebrated, and was sent off.

In the end a draw was probably a fair result as the wet and windy conditions deprived the game of any real quality with clear-cut chances virtually nonexistent.

The stalemate prevented Parish from regaining the lead of the Premier Division.

They now trail leaders Somerset Trojans, who had three coaches present at Wellington Oval yesterday, by one point.

Parish and Trojans will lock horns at Wellington Oval on Sunday in a match that could have a strong bearing on the outcome of one of the tightest title races in recent times.

“It’s a war out there right now, everybody is fighting for something,” Kieshon Smith, the Parish coach, said.

Asked if he thought his team had dodged a bullet, Smith replied: “I was actually frustrated because the goal they got came from nothing. But the good thing is we were able to get a point and are still in the mix to push on.

“Considering the conditions and the way the game went, we are glad to come out with something.”

The draw with Parish, coupled with Southampton Rangers’ victory over North Village, meant that St George’s dropped into the relegation zone.

“We got a lucky chance and took it and they got a lucky call and they took it, Kameron Fox, the St George’s coach, said. “Overall, it was a good game of football and I am proud of my team for working hard.”

As for the disputed penalty which dashed his team’s victory hopes, Fox added: Everybody has a decision to make and somebody is not going to like it. We just have to take it as it comes and go from there.”

With the wind at their backs, St George’s pinned Parish in their own half for long spells but were unable to break their tenants down.

Despite being bombarded playing into the wind, Parish never lost their shape and relied on the pace of forwards Angelo Cannonier and Shayne Hollis on the quick break.

Marshall and opposite number Nigel Burgess probably never had it so easy as neither team managed a shot on target in the first half.

Parish coach Smith read his players the riot act during the break, but it was St George’s who drew first blood aided by some poor goalkeeping by the otherwise tidy Burgess.

The Parish goalkeeper mishandled a bouncing ball which dropped right in front of Lambert who made no mistake from close range.

Parish responded almost immediately, but a courageous Marshall raced off his line to clear the ball away from Castle.

St George’s suffered a setback when Lambert limped off with an ankle injury in the 71st minute and was replaced by Justin Denbrook.

Darrell’s poor judgement then cost his team two more precious points they could ill afford to lose with their Premier Division survival in jeopardy.