Black Lion roar past champions

Black Lion defeated defending champs Royal Lakes 3-2 in a quarter-final game of the St Catherine FA U-17 Football League at the Prison Oval last Saturday.

Black Lion looked the better team on the day and had a 2-0 lead after just 13 minutes, as an own goal by Lakes' Hakeem Brown (4th) and a Jamie Hall strike in the 13th minute gave the victors the early advantage.

Royal Lakes, who depended heavily on Romario Constant and Romario Gringnon, hit back with two quick strikes, first through Constant in the 19th minute for his 14th goal of the season, while Gringnon (32nd), levelled the game.

Vital goal

However, Romario Mitchell scored the vital goal in the 64th minute, allowing Black Lion to break a five-year jinx of not defeating their seasoned rivals.

"We finally broke the jinx," a relieved Ian Henry, coach of Black Lion, expressed after the game. "It was a good game for us and we are looking forward for the semi-final."

In the second quarter-final at the venue, Albion who were clearly the more superior team of the two, gave their fans a scare before holding on to a 3-2 win over Spanish Town Police Youth.

Albion led 3-0, at one stage, with Kevon Nembhard, (8th), the team's leading striker Tavoy Morgan (23rd), and Darren Grant (39th) all scoring. They eased up off the gas and the Police youth team launched a series of attacks, netting goals through Danny McLaughlin (45th) and Desmond Malcolm (71st).

The game ended on a sour note, as Kenrick Francis was shown a red card by referee Patrick Findlay for a second bookable offence.

Albion's coach, Kenny Lee, said that he was pleased with his team's attacking plays, but was let down by his defenders.

"Our performance was not 100 percent today. The wet conditions somehow affected our level of play. However, I'm pleased with the way we attacked, and our leading striker, Tavar (Morgan), stepped up and scored and David Samuels' contribution also helped to lift the team," he said. "We, however, lost the discipline in defence and put Police back in the game, but I'm glad we held on for the win."