BAA made ten-man St George’s pay dearly for a dismissal in the first half and missed penalty after the break in the First Division Shield semi-final at PHC Field yesterday.

St George’s were reduced to ten men when goalkeeper Charlie Marshall Jr was sent off after the BAA’s opening goal, a controversially-taken free kick by Willie Clemons in the sixteenth minute.

Clemons, looking to use the element of surprise, was given the greenlight by referee Tracey Adams to take a quick kick, curling it past Marshall Jr, much to the indignation of the St George’s players.

Marshall Jr was brandished with a red card for using foul and abusive language during the ensuing protests, while Clemons, who impressed throughout with his pace and movement, received a booking.

Tempers simmered for the remainder of the half as St George’s, feeling hard done by, looked in danger of losing their composure.

The half-time interval seemed to galvanise the St George’s dressing room, however, with the home side starting the second half with plenty of attacking purpose.

An early chance by Jarazhino Bassett went begging, with the striker sending his wild shot over Karl Brown’s crossbar, while Philip Anderson also put a close-range header wide from a corner.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, St George’s were firmly in the ascendancy and won a penalty on the hour mark after Anderson was halted in his tracks by a reckless challenge from Zeon Robinson.

However, Macai Simmons, the St George’s striker, let BAA off the hook, firing his penalty against the crossbar much to the relief of an increasingly twitchy BAA bench.

Kameron Fox, taking charge of the team in Kenny Thompson’s absence, immediately brought on Troy Tucker, with the experienced midfielder’s introduction proving to be an inspired one.

Just moments after replacing Laquan Thomas, Tucker doubled the visiting side’s lead after some superb link-up play with Clemons in the 69th minute.

Tucker added his second six minutes later with another neat finish before Nicholas Araujo, his midfield partner, added a fourth with a superb long-range effort with his lethal left foot.

Fox, who suffered relegation with St George’s last season, said the calming influence of Tucker was a crucial factor in his team’s win.

“It was unfortunate the way the game went at the beginning with St George’s getting a red card,” said Fox, whose side will meet X-Roads Warriors in the final on New Year’s Day at Somerset Cricket Club.

“They have a never-say-die attitude and we knew they were going to come in the second half.

“We brought on an experienced player like Troy [Tucker] who is a good finisher and can change games — he put us in the final.”

Fox is expecting a tough encounter against an in-form X-Roads who he described as “another never-say-die team”.

“X-Roads have beaten the top four or five teams in the [First Division] and we will have to be ready for them,” he said.