Wolves 2

Hamilton Parish 1

Goals from Tamauri Tucker and Vincent Minors Jr grabbed Wolves a crucial three points last night as they beat Hamilton Parish at Devonshire Recreation Club.

Ijahmon Mallory scored a late consolation goal for Parish, while Lamelle Paynter, of Wolves, was sent off for violent conduct midway through the second half.

The win propels the Devonshire side to seventh in the table, while the losers have slipped to ninth ahead of bottom club St David’s only on goal difference. But the teams had to wait for more than half an hour to get the scheduled 8pm kick-off under way when the lights failed to come on. Once they did, with the help of Belco, it was Wolves who proved they had the staying power to see the job through.

“These are the crucial moments that tell you either you are going to mount a fight to stay in the top flight or you are going to let things be and see where you end up,” Mark Jennings, the Wolves coach, said. “We had a tough going of it for the most part, but we held on to what we had and now we are in the middle of the pack with this result.”

“You have to put your own personal feelings and thoughts aside and think about what is the betterment of the team, and tonight we showed this as well as that there is fight in our side. We will fight until the final whistle of the season.”

The action picked up in the second half after a dull opening 45 minutes. Wolves were in the ascendancy in the early stages and took the lead ten minutes into the second half.

Tevaughn Tyrell was brought down just outside the Parish penalty area by Mallory, leaving Tucker to do the honours in beating Nigel Burgess, the Parish goalkeeper, at his far post from the ensuing free kick.

Ian Coke had a chance to get the visiting side on level terms after he latched on to an errant back-pass to Daniel Adams in the Wolves goal.

Adams was quick to banish any ideas Coke had of scoring, however, saving well with his feet from Coke’s shot from 20 yards.

Shayne Hollis also had a chance to get Parish’s goal, but his chip over Adams was headed clear of the goal by an onrushing Daz Simons, who was covering his goalkeeper.

A defensive error between two Parish defenders 18 yards from their goal gifted Wolves captain Minors his opportunity to get his name on the scoresheet. The veteran made no mistake from six yards, beating a helpless Burgess.

The result could have been different had Parish taken a crucial chance late on from the penalty spot. Coke had a penalty saved by Adams in the 89th minute after the former was bundled over in the area.

They were then awarded a second penalty one minute later, which Mallory put home with a clinical finish.

It would be too little, too late as the home side leapfrogged their opponents to get out of the bottom two.

OJ Minors, the St David’s player-coach, is hopeful that his side can get a result from their trip to Somerset Cricket Club tomorrow.

The Islanders take on second-placed Somerset Trojans, with both clubs looking for maximum points to help out their respective campaigns.

St David’s got a 1-0 win at home over Southampton Rangers last weekend, helping the club’s survival ambitions.

Sitting on ten points with Hamilton Parish and Rangers, the east-end club are in the relegation zone only on goal difference.

Acknowledging that getting a favourable result against Somerset is a tough task for any club, Minors believes that with a bit of courage and determination, his troops can get the job done.

“It will be a hard match against Somerset at home,” Minors said. “Not many sides have gone up there and got results, so it is up to us as a team to stick together and focus on the task at hand.

“The are champions of Friendship Trophy and will be looking to push on with their league title push.

“What we must do is concentrate on what we need to do to help our cause. A draw is good for us; anything more is a definite bonus.”

Premier Division fixtures for tomorrow include league leaders Dandy Town welcoming a rejuvenated PHC Zebras to St John’s Field, while Flanagan’s Onions and North Village do battle at Goose Gosling Field and champions Devonshire Cougars take on Southampton Rangers at Southampton Oval.

In First Division action, Ireland Island Rangers face Devonshire Colts at Malabar Field, Somerset Eagles lock horns with X-Roads, and Paget welcome Young Men’s Social Club to Southampton Oval.

Robin Hood make the short trek to Police Field to take on Boulevard, while BAA and St George’s play at Goose Gosling Field.

Wolves (4-4-2): D Adams — D Simons, M Laws (sub: D Brangman, 81min), H Burrows, L Paynter — A Francis, N Lee (sub: M Williams, 4), Troy Tucker, Tamauri Tucker — T Tyrell, V Minors. Substitutes not used: M Ming, K Brangman, S Davies, T Davis. Sent off: Paynter.

Hamilton Parish (4-5-1): N Burgess — K Cann (sub: C Hill, 83), K Darrell (sub: D Rogers, 79), I Mallory, J Lee — T Douglas, C Durham, D Minks, J Outerbridge, S Hollis — I Coke. Substitutes not used: Q Glasford, E Parsons. Booked: Mallory, Coke.

Referee: A Francis.