Devonshire Cougars 1 X-Roads 4

X-Road ran rampant, scoring two goals at the end of the first half to beat Devonshire Cougars at Devonshire Recreation Club yesterday.

The victory puts X-Roads top of the table, two points ahead of PHC Zebras, who have a game in hand.

Cougars threatened in the sixteenth minute when Shaki Pearman chased down a long pass through the middle only to have X-Road’s goalkeeper Dashun Cooper smother the ball at his feet before he could get his shot off.

Moments later miscommunication between Cougars’ defender Zekiro White and goalkeeper Kioshi Trott saw X-Road’s striker Donavan Thompson sneak in behind to poke wide from two yards.

The visiting side broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Tymon Daniels took a free kick from just outside the area.

Daniels hit a shot through a maze of bodies which ricocheted in off the post leaving Trott no chance. Before the interval, X-Roads gave themselves much needed breathing space after Thompson, the top-flight’s leading scorer, chased down a long pass out. He outpaced Trott and the Cougars defence to slot into an open net in the 45th minute.

Cougars made things interesting in the 56th minute when Moses Steede laid on a deft pass to Shaki Pearman just inside the box. Pearman then rifled a shot into the net to inject some life into the Cougars.

Cougars applied relentless pressure in search of an equaliser. Substitute Mark Steede went close when his powerful shot was pushed out for a corner by goalkeeper Dashun Cooper.

With X-Roads pinned back on their heels, the Cougars came dangerously close to scoring several times but were denied largely by Cooper.

The Cougars would offer one final assault on goal in the 86th minute, but Moses Steede’s effort from distance sailed inches over the crossbar.

These misses came back to haunt the Cougars as the X-Roads struck twice in the 84th and 90th minutes.

Thompson made a long run down the line, raced in on goal and found Daniels unchecked to make it 3-1. Paul Simons then completed the scoring when he slotted home in the 90th minute.

SCORERS

Devonshire Cougars

Pearman 56

X-Roads

Daniels 32, 84

Thompson 45, Simons 90

TEAMS

Devonshire Cougars (4-3-3): K Trott – C Matthews, D Simmons(sub: O Bascome, 78), D Daniels, J Seymour (sub: J Mallory, 69) — Moses Steede, S Pearman(sub: Mark Steede, 65), Zeko Simmons — Zekiro White, Zeko White, D Williams. Substitutes not used: C Maybury, L Tota, N Simmons, N Carmichael. Bookings: C Matthews.

X-Road (4-4-2): D Cooper – J Furbert, K Wilkinson, A Burgess(sub: N Richardson, 86min), T Daniels – J Dickinson(sub: A Heyliger, 75), P Richardson, D Thompson, K Hamilton(Sub: J Swan, 53) — L Simmons, P Simons. Substitutes not used: O Williams, D Baker, R Beek, T Lowe. Bookings: T Daniels.

Referee: A Francis.