Lion win puts smile on Straw's face

Gareth Davis Sr, Gleaner Writer

Humble Lion assistant coach Max Straw left Lynch Park in a jubilant mood on Wednesday following their hard-fought 1-0 victory over Highgate, courtesy of a Lenworth Hyde Jr 43rd-minute strike in their National Premier League matchup.

"We played according to plan," he said. "It was always going to be a difficult game on the road, so the coaching staff urged the players to stick to the game plan. Highgate basically control the game; however, we got the vital goal. They came back at us in the second half, but we held on for the three points," he added.

Highgate had most of the ball possession through Donovan Davis, Romeo Parkes, Richard Orrett and Shamir Stewart but outstanding goalkeeping by Philmore Crumbie, coupled by good defensive work from Kirk Duckworth, Tyrone Sawyers and Adrian Mitchell denied the hosts time and time again.

No taming the lion

Humble Lion were not exactly tamed themselves, as they countered well throughout the contest through the likes of Lenworth Hyde Jr, Kevin Lamey and Carlington Smith.

With the game seemingly heading for deadlock in the first half, Humble Lion took the lead when captain Tyrone Sawyers made a cross from the left flank, picking out Hyde, who rose high to head past Rodney Hamilton in the 43rd minute.

The second half saw Highgate leading the attack through Parkes, substitute Luke Soares, Stewart and Kevin Williams, but an alert Crumbie kept them at bay.

Hyde was unfortunate not to get a brace when he moved down the left flank, but his shot was brilliantly saved by Hamilton going low to his right.

Assistant coach of Highgate, Michael Smith, lamented his team's lost opportunities after they squandered at least two decent chances.

"We can't get those chances and not make use of them at this level," he said. "Humble Lion only got one chance and we paid for it. We had a bad game today and at this level, every scoring opportunity has to count," he added.