Granville seal semi berth with 2-1 victory

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Granville FC became the first semi-finalists in the 2011 Trelawny FA National Rums of Jamaica Major Football League last weekend when they defeated Preston FC 2-1 to move five points clear atop the standings in the 12-team competition, with just two rounds of preliminary matches to be played.

"We have now completed the first part of our objective, which was to make it to the semi-finals of the competition," said George Sylvester, the player/coach of the Granville team. "The next step is to make the final and win the title."

Granville, with a season record of 11 wins, three draws and six defeats in their 20 games, have amassed 36 points, which is five more than joint second-place teams, former parish champions Holland United and Invaders FC.

Granville have also played one game fewer than their main rivals.

In their game against Preston FC last Saturday, Granville got their goals from the boots of prolific striker Larone Clarke, who scored in the 11th and 51st minutes. Dewey Stewart got Preston's consolation goal in the 71st minute.

Kinloss hammered

In another high-profile game on the weekend, mid-season champions Kinloss FC suffered an embarrassing loss, going down 5-0 to a rampant Holland United. While they are still in the top four with their 30 points, Kinloss will now need to secure positive results in their next two games if they hope to make the competition's semi-finals.

In what was one of their better performances of the season, Holland were lifted by Romaine Lewis, who notched a hat-trick; and Collin James, who scored twice. Lewis scored in the 20th, 21st and 32nd minutes while James got his goals in the 12th and 30th minutes.

In other games played on the weekend, Invaders FC, behind two late goals by Omar Williams, in the 83rd minute, and Roy-Dean Thomas, in the 89th minute, blanked Classic FC 2-0. Jackson Town clipped Defenders 2-1, Duanvale FC outscored Flames FC 2-1 while Clark's Town and Palmento United played to a 0-0 draw.

The full points standings going into the weekend's round of matches read as follows: Granville - 36, Invaders - 31, Holland - 31, Kinloss - 30, Clark's Town - 29, Duanvale - 28, Flames - 28, Palmento - 27, Spicey Hill - 23, Preston FC - 20, Jackson Town - 19 and Classic - 13.

The eventual champions will take home the National Rums of Trelawny title and $150,000, as well as earn qualification for next season's Captain's Bakery Western Super League.