First blood
MONTEGO BAY, St James — MONTEGO Bay Boys’ Club took a vital one-goal lead over former champions Fogo United in their first leg semi-finals of the St James Football Association’s Sandals/ATL Senior League at Jarrett Park on Tuesday.
In the other game Little Miami, who are gunning for their third straight berth in the finals, were held goalless by North Gully Ambassadors. The return legs of both games are set for tomorrow afternoon at Jarrett Park.
In tomorrow’s games, Boys’ Club and Fogo will meet in the first match set to start at 4:00 pm, followed by North Gully Ambassadors and Little Miami at 6:00 pm.
On Tuesday, Glenroy Williams’ 89th-minute goal gave Boys’ Club the edge over Fogo and prevented two stalemates between teams that appear closely matched on paper.
Fogo United is the only team remaining in the competition to have won the league, at least in the last four decades, after Boys’ Club won a series of titles back in the 1970’s in the old Division One era.
Despite the first leg results, however, the odds favour Little Miami and Boys’ Club meeting in the two way finals to decide the title and the qualifier for next season’s Western Confederation Super League.
Little Miami, who lost back-to-back finals to Fogo United and Norwood Strikers, timed their season perfectly and came into the semi-finals with the best form, having four wins and two draws in the third round, while outscoring their opponents 16-7.
They also have the best one-two scoring punch, with Androckle Poyser leading the way with 14 goals and Alwayne Simons with eight; Williams’ goal on Tuesday gave him six for the season to join his Boys’ Club teammates Leroy Christie and Kalusha Kotes, while Fogo United’s pair of Alme McFarlane and Dwayne Miller have also scored six each.
The finals are set for June 21 and 30.