Dandy Town 2 Devonshire Cougars 2

Devonshire Cougars scored a couple of late goals to salvage a point against Dandy Town at St John’s field yesterday.

After chasing a two-goal deficit for the majority of the game, second-half substitutes Jesse Seymour and Jomeko Mallory scored one each to help their team to a hard-fought comeback.

Cougars coach Omar Butterfield was proud of his team’s fighting spirit. “Coming off a tough week, I am very happy with the performance and the character that the players showed today to come from behind. More importantly, I see the team improving every week and, although I feel like we could have taken all three points today, I think the result will do a lot for our confidence.”

The first half was rather scrappy, with both teams struggling to get any type of rhythm on a dry surface. Dandy Town did have the better of the early exchanges and were able to take the lead in the thirteenth minute by way of an own goal. Omar Wilson found space down the right side of the box and his attempted pullback was deflected into the net by a Dandy Town defender.

Two minutes later, Angelo Simmons would double the lead after being played through by Damon Ming. The Dandy Town captain composed himself to sidestep goalkeeper Kioshi Trott and finish comfortably from 12 yards.

Dandy Town had two opportunities to extend their lead before the half, but Kwame Steede’s follow-up header from a rebound went just wide of a post, and Simmons watched his effort go high and wide from close range.

After offering very little in the first half, Cougars were a lot more lively and determined in their approach after the interval. Playing more direct, they began to gain momentum with successive set-piece opportunities, which eventually produced their first goal.

Seymour rose high at the back post to nod home a Moses Steede corner and bring his team within striking distance in the 67th minute.

As Cougars continued to press, Town were finding openings on the counter-attack, but were not nearly sharp enough with the final pass or finish.

Eventually, the pressure would pay off for Cougars, as they found their equaliser five minutes from time. Mallory got on the end of a return header from midfield and, from the edge of the box, unleashed a rasping volley that dipped under the crossbar, as goalkeeper Troy Hall Jr could only watch.

SCORERS

Dandy Town

White 13, Simmons 15

Devonshire Cougars

Seymour 67, Mallory 84

TEAMS

Dandy Town (4-4-2): T Hall — K Lathan, K Steede, T Manders, L Emery — E Blankendal, D Ming, A Simmons, N Spence (sub: Z Burchall, 81min) — N Smith (sub: N Eversley, 74), O Wilson (sub: D Walker, 60). Substitutes not used: T Wilson, J Manders, D Butterfield. Booked: Walker.

Devonhire Cougars (4-4-2): K Trott — C Matthews, Zeko White, Zekiro White, D Simmons (sub: C Maybury, 75) — D Daniels, L Tota, M Steede, N Simmons (sub: J Seymour, 55) — S Pearman (sub: J Mallory, 63), Z Simmons. Substitutes not used: N Carmichael, O Bascome, Z Simmons, J Wade. Booked: Steede.

Referee: L Cann.