HAYES, Clarendon — Jamalco, the South Central Confederation champions, opened their campaign in the National Premier League play-offs with a 1-0 win over Barbican, spurring their coach Rayon Johnson to hail the victory as a confidence booster.

Midfielder Mickardo Lawl scored the winner in the 13th minute at their Wembley home ground in Hayes, Clarendon.

Jamalco now join Reno at the front of the pack in the race for the two available spots in next season’s Red Stripe Premier League after the Western Confed champions thrashed St Mary outfit Axum 4-0 at Frome in Westmoreland.

“We came here looking for a winning start, so it’s a good feeling to get the three points,” the Jamalco coach said in his post-game interview.

“Overall, it was a good performance from the team,” added Johnson. “Everybody made their contribution. Going forward, this victory should do a lot for their confidence.”

Meanwhile, Barbican coach Denton Sheddon, who blamed a minor lapse in concentration for the defeat, said his team is not fazed by the result. “All we need to do is go back to the drawing board and correct the mistakes for the next game,” noted Sheddon.

The play-offs are being contested by the four confederations champions in a round-robin,

home-and-away format, with the top-two teams on points at the end of the series, earning a place in the premiership.

In the next round of games, which are scheduled for Wednesday, Axum hosts Jamalco at the St Mary Sports Complex, while Reno travel to Barbican.