Dandy Town 7 Young Men’s Social Club 1

Reigning Premier Division golden boot winner David Jones Jr had his first fruitful salvo of the season as he scored a hat-trick in Dandy Town’s rout of Young Men’s Social Club at PHC Field on Saturday night.

Town refused to allow Social Club to settle into any shape early on as Jahkari Furbert clipped in a corner and Nizigh Spence’s header was blocked inside two minutes. But that was merely a reprieve as, from the opposite side, Tomiko Goater drove in another dangerous set-piece and Spence bundled over from close range after a goalmouth scramble.

Social Club had zero intent to attack as the defending League champions piled on further pressure. Furbert missed from close range after ten minutes, while Goater and Quadir Maynard each missed efforts from distance moments later.

Social Club could never find any rhythm in possession and Town found their second when Jaidyn Robinson played Zachary Hannay through into space. He cheekily sold Social defender Kristian Singh with a dummy before driving past him and sliding a calm finish underneath keeper Chiquon Smith.

Jones began his scoring spree with two goals in four minutes midway through the first half. First, Furbert took advantage of poor Social Club defending in a sweeping Town move. He whipped a low delivery towards the penalty spot for Jones to tap home. That killed the match as a contest, destroying any slim belief Social Club may have held.

Three minutes after that, Treazi Gibbons slipped in Jones along the left channel and he finished firmly into the far post, giving Smith no chance.

Ten minutes before half time, Gibbons, son of veteran cricketer Treadwell, scored his first after evading a few Social Club challenges just outside the box before firing low and hard past an unmoved Smith.

Town, despite the dominant scoreline, could have easily had seven before the break, but had to settle for five.

Gibbons added a second to his tally inside three minutes of the second half, pouncing on another lapse of concentration by the Social Club back line, to finish from about eight yards out.

Town seemed to get complacent with their approach in the second period, although Tomiko Goater enjoyed the space he was afforded and got an inadvertent assist for Jones to complete his hat-trick.

Social Club found some confidence from the lack of conviction in the Dandy Town approach in the second half and started to create chances after substitute Quinn Simmons was introduced to bring some added physical presence.

Both creative spark Zeiko Lewis and Smith had half chances blocked as the Town defence attempted to secure the clean sheet in the final moments. Young forward Tavez Smith and the energetic Hannay still held a threat on the counter attack, with both wide players forcing Smith into significant saves.

Colombian Yeferson Ramirez led from the back when needed in the minimum pressure Town faced, but Lewis did snatch a consolation two minutes from time following their first costly error. Lewis showed strong composure to fire into the near post from distance and provide one positive contribution in an otherwise miserable night for the struggling Bluebirds.

Scorers

Dandy Town: Spence 3, Hannay 15, Jones 25, 28, 54, Gibbons 34, 48

Young Men’s Social Club: Lewis 88

TEAMS

Dandy Town: J Manders, Y Ramirez, T Goater, D Jones Jr, J Robinson, Z Hannay, T Manders, Q Maynard, J Furbert, N Spence, T Gibbons. Substitutes: A Harvey, E Moore, K Davis, S Smith, M Joell, D Daniels.

Young Men’s Social Club: C Smith, T Woodley, K Singh, J Smith, K Smith, A Matthews, A Wilson, M Wilson, D Simons, J Hylton, Z Lewis. Substitutes: Q Simmons, E Mensah, B Swan Jr.

Referee: K Powell (Jamaica)