Devonshire Colts 1

Hamilton Parish 3

Devonshire Colts enjoyed the superior possession but it was Hamilton Parish who poured on the Hot Pepper sauce to burn the home side in their Premier Division match at Police Field yesterday.

Colts squandered a plethora of scoring chances in the opening half-hour, with their profligacy in front of goal punished by Parish thanks to a brace from Donovan Thompson in the 34th and 35th minutes.

Kuino Cann missed a glorious opportunity to open the scoring for Colts, but his strike from point-blank range from a tight angle was brilliantly saved by Nigel Burgess, the Parish goalkeeper.

Then, in the 20th minute, Quinn Burch made a long telling run from midfield and laid off a deft pass to Kyle Jones inside the penalty area. Unfortunately, Jones scuffed his shot from close range.

Two minutes later Jones, who threaded a beautiful pass to Eli Smith, could only watch in dismay as Smith sent his effort soaring over the bar from just six yards out.

Jones had another opportunity to redeem himself in the 38th minute but he mistimed his shot after being sent through by Lozendro Symonds.

Things began to unravel for Colts in the 34th minute when Thompson opened the scoring for Parish.

Patrick Richardson chased a long ball down the flanks and sent a low searching pass across the penalty area which found Thompson who fired past a stranded Gregory Rose, the Colts goalkeeper.

A minute later, Thompson doubled his side’s advantage with his second goal when he latched onto a long ball out of defence.

Thompson eluded the Colts defence, made his way into the penalty area and unleashed a shot beyond Rose.

Parish added a third in the 62nd minute with a Chris Caisey penalty and then went into defensive mode.

Colts were rewarded for their all-out hustle in the 66th minute when Quinn Simmons, who had come on two minutes earlier, threaded a pass through a maze of bodies that found Vernell Lambe who poked home from close range.

Soon after, things became tense and got a little testy between the teams when Parish’s Anthony Smith engaged Jay Bean, the Colts coach, in a verbal spat along the sidelines. Calm was quickly restored by referee Raul Ming and both teams settled down.

Colts continued applying the pressure and went close on a few occasions but could not reduce the deficit.

Thompson, the Parish striker, said the win would serve to boost his side’s fight for survival.

“I feel like I’m starting to round into form and my goal is to be the top scorer in the league and finish with 20 goals,” he added.