St George’s Colts 3 X-Roads Warriors 2

St George’s Colts held off a late fightback by X-Roads Warriors to return to winning ways at Wellington Oval on Sunday.

Colts jumped out to a commanding 3-0 lead with goals from Blaiz Hall, Kieshon Wilson and Jonté Smith before Chae Brangman and Donavan Thompson hit back for a X-Roads side that squandered glorious opportunities to come away with a share of the spoils.

St George’s, who snapped a two-game losing streak, also had goalkeeper Jahquil Hill to thank as he pulled off a string of spectacular saves.

“It feels good to get back to winning ways,” Kashe Hall, the St George’s captain, said. “It was a hard game today because of the wind but other than that we played good.

“It was pretty hard going against the wind in the second half, so the key for us was keeping the ball on the ground and to score our chances when we get them.

“It’s unfortunate we could not come first in the league but we will be better next year as this team definitely has a bright future.”

St George’s kicked off the match with the wind to their back and capitalised in the 23rd minute when X-Roads goalkeeper Jamin Furbert failed to grasp Jarazinho Basset’s cross, which came back off the near post and Hall was granted ample time and space to prod home from close range.

Hall went close to grabbing a second when he lobbed just wide of the far post after linking up with defender Nazari Paynter and striker Smith.

X-Roads defended most of the first half against the strong gales but caused a bit of anxiety with Brangman having the ball cleared off his boot in the area and Hill pulling off a fine save to deny Darren Woolridge at the near post.

Wilson doubled St George’s lead in the 50th minute when he wriggled his way in the box before firing a shot that went in off Furbert’s body at the near post before Smith went close with Furbert pushing his effort around the post, while at the opposite end an alert Hill tipped Basset’s wayward clearance over the bar.

Smith eventually got on the scoresheet to make it 3-0 from the penalty spot. The towering striker was brought down by X-Roads left back Daniel Teleman in the area and tucked the ball inside Furbert’s bottom left corner after dusting himself off.

Hill pulled off another excellent save to tip Tymon Daniels’ blast from 25 yards over the bar as X-Roads pressed on and they finally pulled one back from the resulting set piece when Brangman nodded in Tymon Daniels’s corner in the 71st minute.

St George’s then lost their cutting edge in the attacking third as coach Jarreau Hayward used his full quota of substitutes and X-Roads dominated down the home stretch with Hill saving Jaman Lottimore’s angled shot at the near post and Thompson headed Woolridge’s corner over from close range before having a shot inside the box blocked by a defender.

Hill also had to rush off his line to collect the ball off of Thompson’s boot on the left side of the six-yard box and X-Roads picked up a final consolation when the striker raced clear as St George’s appealed for offside and slotted past Hill in stoppage time.

SCORERS

St George’s Colts: B Hall, 23; Wilson, 50; Smith (pen), 62

X-Roads Warriors: C Brangman, 71; Thompson, 90+1

TEAMS

St George’s Colts (4-3-3): J Hill 8 – N Paynter 7, D Signor 7, T Burgess 7, J Basset 7 (sub: G Wade, 76min) – J Burgess 7 (sub: J Dickinson, 76), J Carlington 7, K Hall 7 – B Hall 7 (sub: C Burns, 85), K Wilson 7 (sub: J Brangman, 76) J Smith 7 (sub: S Blair-Paynter, 85). Booked: N Paynter. Substitutes not used: L Dill, M Simmons.

X Roads Warriors (4-5-1) J Furbert 5 – D Teleman 5, T Daniels 7, L Simmons 6, N Smith 6- C Brangman 7, A Daniels 7, K Brangman 6 (sub: A Wilson, 63 6), D Woolridge 6 (sub: D Simons, 63 6), J Lottimore 6 (sub: R Beek, 85) – D Thompson 7. Substitutes not used: T Perinchief, O Williams.

Referee: A Francis.