In your neighbourhood
Published:Saturday | August 6, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Business HouseKO cricket semis
The semi-finals in the Best Dressed Business House 30-over cricket competition will be played tomorrow, with defending champions LIME up against Jamalco at Chalmers Avenue and league champions Jamaica Broilers opposing NHT at Spring Village in St Catherine.
Both matches start at 1 a.m.
Meanwhile, two of the three matches scheduled to be played last Sunday were aborted.
Sagicor failed to honour their 50-over league fixture against JUTC at Chalmers Avenue, while rain affected play in the 35-over semi-final match between NWC and Jamalco at Mona.
This match actually started before the showers arrived. It has been rescheduled to some time in September.
In the other 35-over semi-final at Kensington Park, home team Digicel defeated Jamaica Broilers.
Wray & Nephew skittles heats up
The preliminary round of the Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum skittles competition ends tomorrow with one semi-final spot still to be decided in Zone B.
All the matches will be played at Dragon Skittles Club, Giltress Street in Rollington Town, as the competition observes another Super Sunday promotion by facilitating all teams at one venue.
The matches on are Dragon vs Starliner, Eagles vs Waltham Strikers and Rowe's Strikers vs Mystix Strikers in the elite zone. Both Eagles and Starliner have already qualified for the semi-finals.
In Division Two, Mister C will oppose Mystix Lady Strikers in a crucial match which Mister C will have to win by a 6-1 margin in order to qualify ahead of the ladies team; Willies vs Olympic Strikers and The Dip vs Hangover. Willies Strikers have secured one semi-final spot from this zone.
Matches start at 1 p.m.
NHT upset Wisyncoin BH football KO
Division Two campaigners National Housing Trust (NHT) pulled off one of the biggest upsets in Business House football this season, clipping defending champions Wisynco 5-4 on penalty kicks in the Scotiabank-sponsored KO competition quarter-finals at Jesse Ripoll on Tuesday.
Both teams were locked at 0-0 after regulation and extra times, before NHT broke the deadlock in the penalty shoot-out. It was the first defeat for Division One leaders and semi-final qualifiers Wisynco in two seasons.
In a Division Two match played on Tuesday at Bell Chung Oval, leaders Jamaica Customs pipped ACS 1-0 to keep their unbeaten record in the league intact. Customs have topped Division Two with 22 points.
Bushy Park host SDC Central Zone 20/20
The Bushy Park community field in Clarendon will host tomorrow's leg of the Social Development Commission's (SDC) Central Zone National 20/20 cricket round-robin matches.
The Clarendon home team, Race Course, will get things under way at 11 a.m. when they entertain wild-card entry Junction of St Elizabeth, while Treasure Beach, another St Elizabeth team, will face French Park of Manchester.
The round-robin series bowled off on July 24 at Comfort in Manchester, with home side French Park losing to Race Course and Treasure Beach beating their parishmates via the Duckworth/Lewis method.
Spinner Roshane Pottinger starred with the ball for Race Course, taking four wickets for five runs as French Park crashed to 73 all out in 17 overs. Opener Wayne Davis then struck an unbeaten 49 to lead them home easily by eight wickets.
The contest between the two St Elizabeth teams was a humdinger, with Junction posting a respectable 159 for seven off their allotted 20 overs. However, rain set in, and following a revised target of 91 off 10 overs, Treasure Beach got home courtesy of some lusty hitting by the JDF senior Cup player, Kamal Dennis.
Victories by Race Course and Treasure Beach will clinch places in the national quarter-finals.
Gully Strikers advance
Gully Strikers confirmed their place in the quarter-final round of the New Testament Church of God Cobbla Church Football League with a crushing 5-1 win over Christiana Strikers.
The crucial win, which took Gully Strikers to eight points and second behind defending champions George North in Zone One, was secured by Kenroy Mullings, who netted a hat-trick, and Glenfield Lewis, who scored twice. Mullings' performance allowed him to surpass Francois Swaby as the league's leading goalscorer.
Zone Two's West Road secured last weekend's other important win, beating Lazio Strikers 2-1. West Road moved to second on eight points behind Spring Ground with the win, but will have to wait until next week's final round to know their quarter-final fate.
Except for Spring Ground on 10 points, Zone Two remains remains undecided as only one team, Richmond, does not have a mathematical chance of advancing to the quarter-finals. Church United have five points but have two remaining games, including tomorrow's clash with Spring Ground.
Tomorrow's games: Spring Ground vs Church United at 2 p.m; and Roose Madrid vs Clandon Strikers.
Lloyd Plummer Memorial League
Race Course hammered Galaxy 5-0 while Bucknor slammed Cemetery Road 5-1 as the largest margins of victory were recorded this past week in the Lloyd Plummer Memorial Football League being hosted at the West Park Community field in May Pen, Clarendon.
Oliver Walker's hat-trick and two goals from Trevol Smith set up Bucknor's first win and their first points of the competition. Despite the win, however, they are in danger of not advancing to the second round as they trail Bushy Park, Treadlight and Street Side in Zone One. Both Treadlight and Street Side made the preliminary contest interesting when they drew 1-1 on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Race Track followed up their 3-0 win over New Roadsville 3-0 with a 5-0 rout of Galaxy. Hughan Gray, who plays for Premier League outfit Sporting Central Academy, netted a hat-trick.
The competition continues today and tomorrow.
New Bowens impress in Jamalco League
Defending champions New Bowens scored the highest margin of victory so far in the 2011 season of the Jamalco-sponsored summer football league, whipping South Manchester 7-1.
Kenroy Mullings gave the champions a 2-0 lead going into the half-time break. However, South Manchester breathed life into the game when Markland Wills netted in the 52nd minute to cut the deficit to 2-1. Desrick Ennis then made it 3-1 in the 65th before Leon Callaghan changed the complexion of the game dramatically with a hat-trick compiled in the 73rd, 75th and 80th minutes of play. Vincent Williams completed the rout in the 87th minute.
Last week's big win pushed New Bowens to six points and top of Zone One over Mocho (four points) and Napoli (three points). Other winners last weekend were Mandela, who edged Railroad 1-0, and Top Halse Hall, who won their clash with Bottom Halse Hall 2-1. The Hunts Pen versus Raymonds match, the Invincible-Port showdown, as well as the matchup between Wembley and Mocho all ended 0-0.
The competition continues this weekend with four matches to be played at the Wembley Stadium.
Today: Mandela vs Hunts Pen; and Wembley vs Mineral Heights.
Tomorrow: Juventus vs Bottom Halse Hall; and Top Hill vs Railroad.
Western Union/Porus Under-15 league
Newcomers John Bosco Boys shrugged off their opening 4-1 defeat to defending champions Tuff Gong to defeat Berrydale 2-1 in the Western Union/Porus Under-15 league.
Berrydale had previously impressed playing to a 1-1 draw with the Tuff Gong.
Meanwhile, Harmons subjected Broadleaf to their second defeat with a 3-1 win. However, Broadleaf, who had also lost 1-0 to Settlement, rebounded with a 2-0 win over Chill Zone, the early whipping boys of the competition. Chill Zone had opened their campaign with a humiliating 10-0 loss to former champions Studds, who also won the Manchester Under 17 competition last month.
JFF National U-13/15Confed play-offs
The JFF Confed Under-13 and 15 national play-offs series begin tomorrow with opening games in the quarter-final round . Both competitions are being played in two separate zones, with each host parish catering to a double-header.
In the Under-13, action in Zone A kicks off at the Bell/Chung Stadium at Santos, where Kingston host Westmoreland at 1:30 p.m., and at Carder Park in Portland, where that parish entertain South Central Confed champions, St Catherine. Zone B will see action at Molynes Road field where St Andrew take on the runner-up side from the Western Confed series, while the other encounter will be hosted at Cotton Tree, where St Thomas take on Clarendon.
In the Under-15, all games are scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Zone A features Kingston hosting Westmoreland at Vauxhall Hill School, while Portland tackle Clarendon at Carder Park.
In Zone B, St Andrew host St James at Molynes Road in the second game of a double-header, while St Thomas entertain newly promoted Manchester in the second match of the Cotton Tree double-header.
Portmore, Bridgeport hunt perfect records
Last year's beaten finalists Portmore United take on hot newcomers Bridgeport in Zone B in a Pines Imaging Centre-sponsored Portmore Under-17 football league match at the Greater Portmore field tomorrow. Match time is 1 p.m. Portmore United, with National Under-17 player Cardel Benbow in their line-up, challenge a Bridgeport team that has created waves since they made their debut earlier in the season.
Both teams have recorded six wins in as many matches. But it will be a tough task for Bridgeport as they are up against a seasoned Braeton-based team eager to take back the trophy from Wanderers. In the second game at the venue, East Portmore Portals take on Christian Pen. In another Zone B double-header at Cumberland, Watson Grove oppose Cumberland at 1 p.m., while at 3 p.m. Westchester take on Watson Grove.
In Zone A, leaders and defending champs Wanderers play an opener at Hellshire at 1 p.m. against Westport, and at 3 p.m. Hellshire United welcome Waterford at the same venue. Rodwood, who lost their first game of the season against Wanderers last Sunday, play Portsmouth at the Portsmouth field at 1 p.m., while Garveymeade and Dunbeholden clash at the venue at 3 p.m.
Waterford Corner League kicks off
The Waterford Football Corner League kicked off last Sunday at the Waterford field with a double-header. The opening game saw Handem from Rodwood outscoring Cool Runnings from 'Flat Bush' 3-1. Handem's victory was sealed from a double strike by Ryan Carr and another goal from Cameron Thorpe, while Curtis Chickory got Cool Runnings' goal. In the feature game at the venue, Park Heights held defending champions Oneinity 0-0. The competition continues tomorrow.
Christine Cummings Cup up for grabs
Colours International and Portsmouth will take aim at the Christine Cummings Cup in the final of the Milo-sponsored Portmore Metropolitan Under-15 cricket league tomorrow at the Bridgeport sports ground. Match time is 11 a.m.
In semi-final action recently, Colours International whipped Reid's Pen by 87 runs at the Portsmouth ground. Scores: Colours 199-6 in 35 overs (Ramone Francis 43, Shaquille Brown 36, Ralston Chambers 34; Marco Grandston 2-48). Reid's Pen 112 all out in 32.1 overs (Junior Tapper 19, Courtney Dowdie 17; Francis, 3-15, Travette Williams, 2-14, Brown 2-15).
The Gleaner in domino semis
Five-time champions The Gleaner advanced to the semi-finals of the Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rums Division One Business House domino competition on July 29 with a 150-139 victory over Continental Baking Company in quarter-final action at the NHT car park, New Kingston.
The 'newsmen' have drawn defending champions SDC in one semi-final, while Jamaica Brandy will oppose stable companions Wray & Nephew Rums in the other semi-final pairing.
In other quarter-final matches, SDC defeated recent KO champions Seprod 115-106, Jamaica Brandy stopped JUTC 130-126, while Wray & Nephew Rums beat Berger 140-136.
In Division Two quarter-final action, Courts defeated UWI 150-135, NHT beat Pepsi 150-121, NCB stopped JPS 150-108, while favourites Jamaica Wharves beat Tastee 145-133 to advance.
The Division Two semi-final pairings are Courts vs NCB and Jamaica Wharves vs NHT.
Police, De la Vega in hot battle
Spanish Town Police and De la Vega City, both on 10 points, are involved in a tense battle in Zone A to see which team joins Royal Lakes in the quarter-finals of the St Catherine FA Under-17 football league. This match has been rescheduled for Tuesday, August 9.
Police have a slight edge as they have a plus-nine goal difference to De la Vega's plus-five, and a draw won't help the latter. The other game, Ravensworth versus New Raiders, is only of academic interest. The teams that already confirmed quarter-final spots include Royal Lakes in Zone A; Albion United and Black Lions
MP Colin Fagan domino League launched
The Colin Fagan South East St Catherine community domino league had its launch at Gem's Headquarters (HQ) Bar in Waterford last Sunday.
Speaking at the launch, Colin Fagan, member of parliament for South St Catherine, said that this competition, which in its fourth year, has grown tremendously and is the envy of other constituencies across the island. He stressed that winning should not be the ultimate goal of the teams, as the league is important in building the relationship within communities in his constituency.
The league has attracted eight teams this year and will be played over eight weeks. Matches on this Sunday (home teams named first) include Portsmouth vs Cumberland; Passagefort United vs Ken's Wildflower, Waterford United vs Westchester Nukuzs, and Garveymeade vs Rising Sun. All matches begin at 1 p.m.