St George’s 0

Devonshire Cougars 0

Devonshire Cougars and St George’s Colts both inched away from the relegation zone after sharing the spoils in a scrappy encounter at Wellington Oval yesterday.

For 85 minutes, excitement was in short supply at either end of the pitch, with both teams struggling with their final ball in the face of swirling winds and a bumpy pitch.

That all changed in the dying seconds, however, as Cougars cranked up the pressure with Darius Cox, Dominique Williams, Machi Battersbee and Zeko White all go within a whisker of grabbing a dramatic winner.

But thanks to some desperate defending and sharp goalkeeping from Charles Marshall, St George’s held on for a draw which keeps them a point above Robin Hood and Flanagan’s Onions at the bottom of the table; Cougars are a further two points ahead of St George’s.

The late Cougars storm notwithstanding, St George’s overall display merited a draw, with Jarreau Hayward dominant and composed in the centre of defence, and their tireless pack of midfielders refusing to allow the visiting side to settle.

Andrew Bascome, the Cougars coach, was pleased with his team’s performance but felt they lacked quality in front of goal.

“I felt we managed two-thirds of the field, up to around the box,” Bascome said.

“As the game went on, we started to get a bit more desperate, and that’s when we went long. I think we need one or two quality players in certain areas and then we will be effective.

“But I don’t think we are playing bad football, and I’m enjoying it regardless. The players are trying hard, and we just have to keep plugging away.”

The introduction of Derrick Brangman and Mark Steede as second-half substitutes gave Cougars more physical presence up front, and paved the way for their late onslaught.

Marshall was finally tested in the 85th minute, when he had to acrobatically palm Cox’s free-kick over the bar. Shortly afterwards, he had to get down low to stop a shot from Williams creeping inside his near post.

Then Cougars thought they had scored, when a frantic scramble led to Battersbee stabbing towards goal, only for a combination of Marshall and some last-ditch defending to keep the ball out. Finally, in stoppage time, Marshall clawed away White’s header from point-blank range.

The home side’s best chance fell to Jarazinho Bassett, the forward, who broke clear of the Cougars defence only to side-foot high and wide with just the goalkeeper to beat.

Mitchell Tucker, the substitute, made an immediate impact to deliver a dangerous low cross from a well-worked free-kick, but no St George’s players were able to supply the finishing touch.

On the whole, though, St George’s got little change out of Kijuan Franks and White, who were uncompromising in central defence for Cougars.