By Neto Baptiste
Following a rocky start to their 2019/20 campaign, former champions Old Road put themselves back in contention for a profitable finish in this season’s Premier Division competition when, on Saturday, they recorded their fifth win in 12 matches to move into the top three of the 10-team standings.
The round south men, 1-0 winners over Pigotts Bullets, were the lone victors in Saturday’s double-header at the ARG after the opening clash between Five Islands and Liberta Blackhawks ended in a 1-1 draw.
Rashawn Shaw scored the lone goal of the contest when he hit home after just 28 seconds to record what would eventually prove the decisive strike after 90 minutes.
The victory lifts Old Road to 18 points and, at the time, third in the standings behind leaders Grenades and Greenbay Hoppers. Sunday’s results could, however, change the top three positions. Bullets remain on 14 points after 12 showings and in the bottom half of the table.
Meanwhile, in the opening showdown, Clarence March scored on the stroke of halftime to give the Blackhawks a 1-0 advantage going into the interval as they went in hunt of a fifth win this season. Their hopes were however dashed when Darien Jaime hit home from close range in the 80th minute to help Five Islands salvage a point from the contest.
Blackhawks move to 16 points from 12 matches as they seek to remain in the top half of the standings, while Five Islands remain second from bottom with 11 points from their 11 appearances thus far.
In a top of the order First Division clash on Saturday, Empire and Triumph battled to a 1-1 draw also at the ARG.
Ashani Lawrence put Tryum ahead in the fifth minute before Rakeem Joseph equalised for Empire just 21 minutes later. There were no other goals in the contest as the teams shared points for a draw.
Empire remained at the top of the standings with 33 points from 15 outings while Tryum moved into the number two slot with 31 points.