Hamilton Parish 1

Boulevard 3

Niko Smith single-handedly dragged an injury-ravaged Boulevard Blazers team to victory over Hamilton Parish at Wellington Oval yesterday.

The Blazers midfielder scored twice as Andrew Bascome's side came from a goal down to eventually see off their opponents, and go top of the Premier Division.

Smith struck twice in ten second-half minutes to take the game away from Parish, and Ajani Gibbons' penalty moments after Smith's second completed the comeback.

However, Blazers were less than convincing winners, and in a game that was far closer than the scoreline suggests, Bascome's side came within a hair's breadth of losing this encounter.

Always threatening going forward, Boulevard were suspect at the back with the normally reliable Ajani Gibbons having a poor game at the centre of defence, a problem that was compounded by the loss of defender Hobte Burrows with little more than 20 minutes gone.

Blazers were already without the influential trio of Takeyhi Walker, Melchisedec Gibbons, and Keimo Bean, who were all injured in the Friendship Trophy clash between these two last Tuesday, but even still should have put the game beyond Parish's reach before Burrows limped off with a groin injury.

Dion Stovell and Michael Parsons both hit the cross bar as Blazers dominated from the off, while Angelo Simmons missed two sitters from inside the area, and for a time it merely looked like a case of how many the Pembroke team would score.

They eventually paid for their poor finishing as Parish striker Angelo Cannonier got free down the right and sent over a cross that the unmarked Ryan Evans crashed home from eight-yards out.

For a while Parish then looked like the better team, and nearly doubled their lead on the stroke of half time when Dejon Simmons bullied his way into the box, only to flick his effort on to the cross bar.

Cannonier should have doubled his side's lead five minutes into the second half, Parish tore Blazers' defence apart, and with three players waiting for the ball, the Parish striker hit his effort straight at Blazers goalkeeper Swan.

A better team than Parish would have begun to kill the game at this point, and instead of blindly charging forward, would've killed the space and stopped Blazers playing. They didn't and they paid for it.

Smith got his first when he rose highest to head home from a corner with an hour gone, and nine minutes later added a second when he started and finished a move that swept the full length of the field.

Angelo Simmons, who had a bit of an off day, won the penalty that finally put the game beyond Parish when he was brought down in the box by defender Jahki Outerbridge, and although the home side pushed until the end, they never really threatened to get back into the game.

Hamilton Parish: N.Burgess, J.Outerbridge (P.Richardson, 74), R.Richardson, R.Smith, C.Hansey, R.Trott, G.Walker (D.Smith, 70), R.Evans (T.Webb, 46), C.Caisey, D.Simmons, A.Cannonier.

Substitutes not used: R.Simmons, G.Gibbons, N.Swan.

Scorer: Evans 31

Boulevard: S.Swan, H.Burrows (A.Nelson, 23), A.Gibbons, Nelson Smith, Q.Maynard, Niko Smith, C.Simmons, D.Bascome, D.Stovell, A.Simmons. Subs not used T.Wilson, D.Bell, R.Burgess, M.Clames, M.Hewey.

Scorers: Niko Smith 60, 69; A.Gibbons (pen) 72.

Booked: R.Smith, D.Smith (Parish).

Referee: G O'Brien

Man of the match: Niko Smith (Blazers)