Dandy Town 1

Southampton Rangers 1

Dandy Town Hornets missed the opportunity to restore their nine-point lead at the top of the Premier Division when Southampton Rangers snatched a late equaliser at St John’s Field yesterday.

Town were hanging on to the 1-0 lead they took on the half-hour mark when midfielder Tomiko Goater, one of seven Town players in Bermuda’s team for this month’s friendly matches in St Kitts and Nevis, scored his eleventh goal in all competitions this season.

However, Southampton’s never-say-die attitude bore fruit when striker Akale Bean lobbed the ball over goalkeeper Mikkail Crockwell to level with six minutes remaining.

“I don’t see it as two points dropped, we have an opponent and our opponents showed up today,” Jomar Wilkinson, the Town coach, said. “Unfortunately, the goal we let in was through lack of concentration and if we are to be successful we have to concentrate.

“Teams are fighting for different reasons just like we’re fighting to win the title and we have to understand that. We had a lapse in discipline today and it cost us.”

It was certainly a valuable point gained for Rangers who came into the match desperate to pull Devonshire Colts back in after they moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a win over Robin Hood at Goose Gosling Field on Saturday night.

“It’s not really a panic, we knew what we had to do out here,” Ezekiel Stoneham, the Rangers captain, said. “We’re Dandy Town’s bogey team and it works in our favour.

“This is a fantastic point, loved it, we still have to play Colts and Hamilton Parish so we could be all right. The smaller teams are always hard to beat, it’s the spirit.”

Goalkeeper Jason Smith, a former Town player, denied Hornets early on when he hurried off his line to boot the ball clear after Angelo Simmons sprang the offside trap.

Midway through the half Smith was solid again, this time blocking a goal-bound shot from Quadir Maynard after Town penetrated down the left side through Simmons as Smith was drawn to the near post before the cross reached Maynard.

Smith was beaten in the 30th minute when another good Town move down Jahnazae Swan’s right side created the opening. His cross into the middle resulted in Simmons laying the ball into the path of Goater whose well-struck shot from the edge of the box gave Smith no chance.

Rangers picked it up at the start of the second half, going close in the opening minute when Keedai Astwood tried a speculative effort from long range which Crockwell scrambled away for a corner.

At the other end, Smith brought off a smart save from an Angelo Simmons shot after the Town captain cut in on the left edge of the box and tested Smith who tipped the ball over the bar.

Bean headed over midway through the half as Rangers continued to work hard for the equaliser.

Goater could have sealed the points for the home side in the 83rd minute but he headed Simmons’s cross against the upright.

It was a costly miss for Town as Rangers scored a minute later when a lapse in defence allowed Bean to lob the ball over Crockwell.

TEAMS

Scorers

Dandy Town (Goater 30)

Southampton Rangers (Bean 84)

Dandy Town (4-5-1): M Crockwell — K Tucker, D Williams, S Darrell, L Millett — J Swan (sub: D Ming, 64min), L Tucker, D Bascome, T Goater, Q Maynard (sub: J Richardson-Martin, 72) — A Simmons. Substitutes not used: E Blankendal, A Daniels, F Frankson, J Amory, K Lathan, K Davis.

Southampton Rangers (4-4-2): J Smith — K Astwood, N Smith, J Hill, K Simmons — V Perinchief, S Perinchief (sub: S Swan, 71), R Lowe (sub: N Mello, 90), J Dyer — E Stoneham, A Bean. Substitute not used: K Symonds. Booked: V Perinchief, K Astwood, J Hill.

Referee: A Mouchette.