Paget 1 X-Roads 6

Paget’s hopes of another season in the top flight were officially dashed yesterday, as they suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of X-Roads Warriors at Southampton Oval.

The Lions came into the match sitting four points outside of safety, knowing that only a victory would keep alive their hopes of staying up for a second season.

It was always going to be a tall order for a team that was missing several key players, and facing a X-Roads team strengthened by the addition of college players Paul Simons and Jarye Bean.

It didn’t take long for Simons to make his presence felt, scoring five minutes into the match after showing good pace and strength to get onto a ball over the top. The striker then had a bit of fortune as the keeper’s attempted clearance deflected off his chest and into the net to open the scoring.

Five minutes later, Simons would turn provider, as he played in Donavon Thompson, whose partially blocked shot from just inside the box, found its way over the line.

At this point it was all X-Roads, and they almost went further ahead, when Patrick Richardson’s well-timed volley from the right went whistling past the far post.

The third goal would eventually come 35 minutes in, when Simons combined with Bean down the left flank and stroked the return pass into the bottom corner to take a comfortable lead into the break.

Paget started the second half with an air of determination, and were able to pull one back within a few minutes of the restart. Delente Frost found space on the edge of the box and his initial shot was parried into the path of Chare Smith, who had the simple task of finishing into the empty net.

The goal shifted the momentum for a period, but Paget were unable to capitalise and X-Roads eventually regained control of the match midway through the half.

In the 70th minute, Tymon Daniels picked up the ball up on the right with loads of space to dribble into the box and unleashed a thunderous strike, beating the keeper at the near post.

Ten minutes later, it was Thompson picking up his second of the match, when he beat the keeper from the edge of the box after being played in by Simons.

By now, Paget were a visibly defeated team, and chances against their defence were coming with regularity as they put up very little resistance.

The final goal came five minutes from the end, when Jorge Sanchez dispossessed a defender, rounded stranded goalkeeper Jason Smith and finished calmly into the empty net to complete the rout.

SCORERS

Paget

Smith 49

X-Roads

Simons 4, 34

Thompson 8, 82

Daniels 72

Sanchez 88

TEAMS

Paget (4-4-2): W Bean (sub: M Burch, 55), K Butterfield, R Richardson, D Hart, K Durrant, K Smith (sub: R Brangman 85), D Frost, D Dill (sub: A Bean 72), C Smith D Curtis, Substitutes not used: K Hollis Booked: K Durrant

X-Roads (4-4-2): D Cooper — A Burgess (sub: K Talbot 82), K Wilkinson, J Furbert, L Simmons, T Daniels, N Richardson, P Richardson (sub J Sanchez 68), J Bean (sub: T Lowe 68), P Simons

Referee: M Wyer