Reno upset Boys'Town 1-0

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Reno kicked off their National Premier League (NPL) campaign with a stunning 1-0 victory over last year's runner-up, Boys' Town, at Collie Smith Drive yesterday.

Former national under-20 player striker, Renorio Downswell, on his NPL debut, scored the lone goal for the Westmoreland-based Reno in the 53rd minute.

The 23-year-old son of former national senior coach Wendell Downswell, said he was very elated with his efforts.

"I feel extremely proud of my performance," said Downswell, who has spent the past two years attending Miami International University in the United States.

"I have been working very hard for the past two months and to score my first goal against Boys' Town, is a big joy for me," he said.

Aiming for the top

The diminutive Downswell, a former student of St Elizabeth Technical, added that with the help of his father, who is also the head coach of the Reno team, he is aiming to become the leading scorer in the competition this season.

"I want to score 20 goals this season and I know that I can do it," young Downswell said.

The fleet-footed forward was gifted a soft goal by Boys' Town custodian, Kirk Porter. The goalkeeper dropped an easy cross onto the feet of the striker, who calmly slotted into the back of the net.

The defeat left Boy's Town head coach Andrew Price very disappointed.

"I think we deserved to win the game based on the territorial advantage that we had for the entire game," said Price.

"We got a lot of clear chances to put away the game and we just could not do it," he said.

Boys' Town dominated the match from the opening whistle and they should have taken the lead in the fifth minute but Michael Campbell's point-blank shot was denied by the crossbar.

The home team dominated the remainder of the first period and created numerous scoring chances but poor finishing from Jermaine Allen, Davian Roberts, Renae Lloyd and Nicholas McMorris let them down.