Social Club 3 Paget 4

Paget Lions clinched promotion to the Premier Division for the first time in their history in anti-climatic fashion at Bernard Park yesterday.

Any thoughts Lions might have had of steamrolling over perennial whipping boys Social Club were dashed as Bluebirds made their opponents sweat it out to the very end of this scrappy affair.

Having been stretched to near breaking point, one might have expected Paget to erupt into extravagant post match celebrations after the final whistle had blown. Instead Lions players celebrated discreetly among themselves in the dressing room while outside only a handful of Paget fans waited patiently to congratulate their heroes.

Starting the match with only nine men, Social Club stunned their opponents by grabbing the lead twice against the run of play and threatened to put Lions? promotion celebrations on hold for at least another week.

However, fate would intervene and deliver Bluebirds a crushing blow late in the match as two disputed referee decisions allowed Paget to wriggle their way off the hook.

And to add insult to injury, Social Club had Leroy Jones and Dean Bean sent off minutes from full time for hurling foul and abusive language at referee Ronue Cann, and then had an appeal for a penalty fall on deaf ears.

Lions player/coach Marvin Belboda scored all four of his team?s goals while Social Club replied through Haile Matthew, Marques Basden and Craig Outerbridge.

?This win is huge for Paget and all of their supporters,? commented Paget Community Club president Michael Stovell afterwards.

?From the start of the match it looked as though we did not show up to play. It was as though we thought we already had promotion in the bag.?

Paget created enough chances to wipe their opponents off the planet. However, the usually reliable Yusaff Pitt, Mandel Outerbridge, Aaron Anderson and Kenneth Outerbridge were all guilty of squandering golden opportunities.

Compounding matters was the fact that whenever Lions did get it right in attack they just couldn?t find a way past Bluebirds ?keeper Sherwin Jennings who enjoyed an outstanding game between the posts.

?We should have won this match easily but we didn?t,? Stovell added. ?The chances we had, we didn?t put them away and so we had to fight right down to the last minute of play.?

Lions player/coach Belboda, also guilty of missing a plethora of chances in front of goal, concurred.

?That?s just how the ball bounces sometimes,? the former Devonshire Colts and Somerset Trojans striker told The Royal Gazette. ?Even though we had a lot riding on this game it was unfortunate we ended up playing to the level of our opponents. But it was a team effort and everybody eventually showed up.?

With promotion now in the bag, Paget can turn their attention to winning the First Division championship and Shield double.

Social Club grabbed a shock lead after only seven minutes when Matthews muscled his way clear of the Lions defence and slipped the ball past the advancing Michael Higgs.

Belboda then notched the first of his four goals when he beat Jennings with a low drive from just outside the 18-yard box to send the two teams into the dressing room deadlocked at one goal apiece at the half.

Paget then took the lead momentarily when Pitt intercepted a poorly taken goalkick and fed Belboda who buried a shot from an angle inside the box.

The joy, though, would be shortlived as Marques Basden followed up on a Derek Dunkley rebound from close range to pull Bluebirds level.

Outerbridge then slotted into an empty net after some clumsy keeping by Higgs to earn Bluebirds their second lead of the match.

But just when it appeared as Outerbridge?s goal would keep the two clubs separated, Lions were awarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box and a hotly-disputed penalty. Taking time to pick his corner, Belboda drilled the ball through a porous wall to square the match with seven minutes remaining and then notched the eventual game winner from the spot at the death.

X Roads 2 St. David?s 4

Visitors St. David?s remained in the thick of the race for promotion in the First Division with this comprehensive triumph at Garrison Field yesterday.

They led 1-0 at the half after missing several scoring opportunities and then found the net three times when play restarted only to see their opponents fight back bravely and score twice after having been reduced to ten players when Diron Rogers was sent off after 25 minutes.

There was early frustration for St. David?s when skipper Angelo Cannonier missed a penalty after 14 minutes, but hard-working midfielder Otis Minors put them ahead with a goal after 22 minutes.

Chances were blown by Cannonier and Landro Minors for the rest of the half which was dominated by the East Enders. Landro Minors, however, gave them a 2-0 lead after 47 minutes and they stretched their dominance to 3-0 ten minutes later when skipper Cannonier finally netted.

Then Otis Minors got his second after 70 minutes to put the result out of reach.

X Roads, with Jaime Celenio solid in defence, were allowed to come into the game with momentum afterwards as the sleepy St. David?s defence allowed Jamel Hassell to dribble by three players to slam the ball home from 15 yards to make it 4-1.

And then more frustration came for St. David?s defence when Keyon Burgess sensationally drilled home a free kick from 19 yards for X Roads? second goal five minutes from the end.

St.George?s Colts 6

Hamilton Parish 1

St.George?s Colts came from behind to record a lopsided win over hapless Hamilton Parish at Wellington Oval.

Hot Peppers went ahead through a Kyle Hodsoll own goal before Chae Foggo equalised for the home team.

Colts then went ahead for good when Peppers netted an own goal themselves before Oronde Bascome converted twice after the break along with Sinclair Gibbons and Jelani Carlington who scored one apiece.

Wolves 4 Somerset Eagles 2

Wolves comfortably defeated cellar dwellers Somerset Eagles at the Den yesterday to keep their promotion hopes alive.

With Southampton Rangers having had their match with Prospect United postponed, Wolves took full advantage by securing three crucial points and moving into third spot over Rangers in the standings to remain hot on the heels of St.David?s.

Michael Spence, Vince Minors jr, Tarik Hill and Hopte Burrows were all on target for Wolves while Eagles replied via goals from Ian Raynor and Clinton Hayward.