Boys’ Club land Sandals/ATL Group Senior League trophy
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Montego Bay Boys’ Club won the St James Football Association Sandals/ATL Group Senior League after trouncing North Gully Ambassadors 3-0 in their return-leg final at Jarrett Park on Sunday for a 4-2 aggregate win.
They will now contest next season’s Western Confederation Super League for the first time ever.
After losing the first leg 1-2 a week earlier, Boys’ Club were the more aggressive team on Sunday scoring all three goals in the first half with Glenroy Williams hitting a brace in a four-minute span, while Leroy Christie added the third for a 3-0 first-half lead.
North Gully Ambassadors ended the game with 10 players after Chrisal Watkins was sent off in the 85th minute.
In the first game of the double header, former National Premier League contenders Seaview FC celebrated their return to the top flight of club football in the parish with a 4-1 win over Lilliput Rovers in the return leg finals of the Dennis Barton/Weston King Division One competition.
After drawing 0-0 in the first leg, Seaview held the upper hand on Sunday with Travis Gillings scoring twice, once in each half after Leon England gave them the lead in the ninth minute and Andre Malcolm scored the fourth.
Seaview ended the game with 10 players after Robert Gibbs was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 86th minute.
Kemar Reynolds scored Lilliput’s consolation goal after missing a handful. Both teams will play in the Senior League next season.
Meanwhile, after coming from behind in the first leg to win 2-1, North Gully Ambassadors came into Sunday’s game full of confidence but were never allowed to settle as Boys’ Club went at them immediately seeking an early goal to tie up the score on aggregate.
The younger, fitter and faster Boys’ Club disrupted North Gully’s game plan as they managed to create just two clear cut scoring chances the entire game.
Curtis Sappleton missed North Gully’s first chance in the 12th minute when he curled a shot wide.
Boys’ Club hit back but were denied by goalkeeper Richard Harvey, who saved a shot from Williams at point blank range, turning the ball over the post for a corner.
North Gully then forced Boys’ Club back in their own goal area forcing four consecutive corners, but failed to score and paid dearly as Williams sent his team ahead in the 26th minute.
Williams shot through a crowd of players from the left side of the North Gully defence area and the ball hit the base of the post and scooted low past Harvey and across the line.
Four minutes later he managed to get behind the North Gully defenders and headed powerfully past the goalkeeper to give his team the lead for good.
Christie sealed the title just before half time when he latched unto a ball on the left side and curled it beautifully just out of reach of the diving goalkeeper into the far corner to silence the large group of North Gully supporters who turned up.
North Gully tried to rally in the second half, but except for a shot in the 61st minute that Boys’ Club’s goalkeeper Garrett Dennis was able to get behind and block with his chest, they failed to create any meaningful scoring opportunity.
Meanwhile, Williams just failed to get his hat trick when he was just high with a chip shot in the 71st minute, while Harvey also had two good saves late in the game to keep the margin close.