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St George’s march past ten-man Tuff Dogs

Fine saves: Freddy Hall

St George’s 2 Tuff Dogs 0

St George’s put their name in the next round after beating ten-man Tuff Dogs in the FA Cup preliminary round at Wellington Oval yesterday.

Striker Caylon Wade gave the home side the lead early in the second half before midfielder Lashun Dill put the match beyond the visiting side’s reach five minutes from time.

Freddy Hall, the St George’s goalkeeper, made a string of brilliant saves with the game hanging in the balance.

The result was particularly bitter to swallow for Tuff Dogs as they carved out several clear-cut chances either side of the break and also missed a first-half penalty.

St George’s also missed a penalty, but did a better job at putting away their chances after the break to finally see off the Corona League side, who were reduced to ten-man when defender Alex Martin was sent off after receiving a second booking inside of eight minutes.

“They played well; we made it hard on ourselves at the same time,” Jarreau Hayward, the St George’s coach, said.

“They kept it tight; they could have had one or two goals. But thankfully our backline, especially Freddie Hall, played well and we just have to improve.”

Tuff Dogs took the match to their First Division opponents from the kick off and were awarded an early penalty after Shaun Brown was brought down in the box. However, the visiting side failed to capitalise as Matthew Gerardo’s tame spot kick was easy pickings for Hall.

Hall also made a one-handed save to deny forward Kyle Hamilton in a one-on-one situation.

St George’s began to stretch their opponents with their width and carve out chances of their own. Defender Alleyne Francis fired over an empty net from an angle while Wade had a dangerous inswinging cross batted away by Tuff Dogs goalkeeper David Trott.

The goalkeeper also did well to save Francis’s 25-yard sizzler after receiving treatment for a knock he suffered in a collision with St George’s playmaker Jahron Dickinson.

The home side picked up where they left off at the start of the second half and finally pierced the Tuff Dogs defence through a well-taken goal by Wade. The striker controlled Dickinson’s pass, dribbled past a defender before beating Trott with a shot inside the near post.

St George’s kept their foot on the throttle in search of more goals and were awarded a penalty after a Tuff Dogs player handled in the box. But they failed to capitalise as midfielder David Signor fired wide.

The home side came agonisingly close to doubling their advantage when midfielder Tyrone Burgess’s shot from outside of the box struck the crossbar.

St George’s relentless pressure finally paid off as substitute Diego McCallan drew Trott off his line before passing to the wide open Dill, who tapped into the empty net from close range.

Tuff Dogs had the last real chance of the game. But once again Hall rushed off his line to gather the ball at Hamilton’s feet. The visiting side’s woes were compounded when Martin was sent off in stoppage time for a second booking.

SCORERS

St George’s: Wade 48, Dill 85

TEAMS

St George’s (4-1-4-1): F Hall — Anthony Francis (sub: W Broadley, 80min), P Anderson, E Signor, Alleyne Francis — D Signor, T McCallan, T Burgess, L Dill, J Dickinson — C Wade (sub: D McCallan, 71). Substitutes not used:

J Brangman, D Darrell, C Marshall, S Greenidge, Z Burgess.

Tuff Dogs (4-4-2): D Trott — C Bean (sub; T Flood, 84mins), A Martin, T Brown, C DeSilva — K Smith (sub:D Martin, 70), L Morrison, M Gerardo, K Hamilton — S Brown, M Cabral (sub: K Brown, 80). Sent off: Martin. Substitutes not used: R Caisey. Booked: Martin.

Referee: L Christopher.