August Town hold Boys’ Town
In a game of numerous missed chances, home team August Town and Boys’ Town battled to a 1-1 draw in their Digicel Premier League match at the UWI Bowl in St Andrew yesterday.
August Town striker Nicholas Smith put his team ahead in the 11th minute with a glancing header while Boys Town’s Peter Keys drew his team level in the 79th minute for a share of the points.
The result puts Boys’ Town on 34 points, and they could stay third if fourth-placed Waterhouse fail to register a win over Sporting Central Academy in a late game at Drewsland.
Boys’ Town coach, Andrew Price, did not hide his disappointment as he berated his charges for numerous goal-mouth blunders.
“We played a much better second half and we got numerous opportunities in the second half… we should have killed off the game and we didn’t do. I am very much disappointed,” Price told reporters in his post-match interview.
Newly appointed August Town coach, Paul Young, who was Price’s teammate at Boys’ Town during their playing days, was easier on his players.
“We ran out of gas and Boys’ Town pressured us. We really wanted to win the home game, but Boys’ Town is a good team and they came back and got an equaliser. Overall it is a good result,” Young said.
During the early exchanges, it was clear that August Town were hungrier and they were rewarded for their zeal when Smith connected with a right-sided corner which eluded a seemingly jaded Boys’ Town defence.
For the remainder of the first stanza, the home team was clearly superior to the visitors and enjoyed more ball possession while playing the more purposeful football.
Price seemed to have tongue lashed his team and they came out in the second half with the gusto for which Boys’ Town is known to display in the latter stages of games.
The Red Brigade, another name for Boys’ Town, stepped up their game notch and had August Town back-pedalling and clutching at straws.
In the 79th-minute, Keys, who seemed to have been in hibernation, latched on to the end of a fierce cross from his skipper Michael Campbell to tap home the equaliser.
A minute later Keys could have sealed the issue, but muffed an easy lob after collecting a sweet through ball from substitute, Anthony ‘Sausage’ Bennett.
Bennett himself became villain after he, too, failed to put away an easy chance that came from a give-and-go between himself and Campbell.
August Town also had their chances to kill the game in the dying moments, the most glaring of which was a goalmouth melee which saw them hitting the crossbar twice and finally ended with referee Lewin Purser whistling for a foul in favour of Boys’ Town.
Teams:
August Town — Devon Haughton, Dean Paul Grandison, Kevin Henzel, Rohan McDonald, Mervin Stewart, Mark Grant (Donovan Bernard 66th), Kemel Mullings, Donovan Hibbert, (Gue Daley 59th), Akeem Thenstead, (Terrence Allen 59th), Kemar Cockburn, Nicholas Smith.
Subs not used: Dwight Morgan, Diego Haughton, Ezekiel Shaw, Maurice Clarke
Booked: Mullings (11th), Thenstead (45th)
Boys’ Town — Kirk Porter, Xavian Virgo, Asrick Samuels, (Fabian Watkins 16th), Daemon Benjamin, Shawn McKoy, Michael Campbell, George Vernal, Peter Keys, Romondo Johnson, Andre Wheeler, (Anthony Bennett 69th), Nathan Wyatt (Renae Lloyd 51st).
Subs not used: Jermaine Bailey, Shane Edwards, Philmore Crumbie, Oniel McDonald
Booked: Virgo (44th), McKoy (64th)
Referee: Lewin Purser
Assistants: Mark Sullivan, Lloyd Edwards
Fourth Official: Clint Reid
Match Commissary: Dudley Powell
– Karyl Walker