Dev. Cougars 2 Boulevard 1

Whether Boulevard ran over any black cats on the way to Devonshire Rec. yesterday is unclear, but what is certain is that the fates were definitely against John Rebello's men.

Be it due to questionable referee decisions, the woodwork or just sheer profligacy in front of goal, their afternoon was destined to end pointless.

The visitors actually took the lead after just ten minutes, Shaki Crockwell rising highest at the far post to head in a Melchisedec Gibbons' free kick.

But it all went awry in the ten minutes leading up to half-time. Firstly, El Karfa Farid got the wrong side of a Cougars' attacker and conceded a needless free kick in the final third on the right.

The resultant kick was floated to the far post where Heys Wolfe appeared to control with his hand before swivelling and firing past Shejuan Swan in the Boulevard goal.

Then on the stroke of half-time Kwame Steede and Boulevard's Robert Wilson slid in for a loose ball. Both men were laid out but the ball had enough momentum to reach the unmarked Wolfe who made no mistake in firing low under the `keeper.

Boulevard should have been 3-1 down within a minute of the restart but Wolfe missed the chance for his hat-trick when he lifted the ball over the bar from barely six yards out.

Minutes later they were nearly made to pay but Crockwell's shot from the edge of the box came back off the upright with Ricardo Brangman beaten.

With 60 minutes on the clock it appeared Boulevard had found the equaliser their hard work had deserved.

Tekehyi Walker - who toiled tirelessly all afternoon - fought off the attentions of the last defender before drawing the `keeper and slipping a `perfect' pass through to the advancing Raymond Burgess. The substitute had the simplest task of slotting the ball into the empty net but his celebration was cut short by the linesman's flag.

Moments later Walker found himself free of the last man with just the goalkeeper to beat only for referee Richard Knight to blow up for a foul in Boulevard's favour. It was an incident that summed up the afternoon for the Blazers, for if the advantage rule had been played Walker would surely have been odds on to bring the sides level.

To their credit, Boulevard did not lose their heads and carried on plugging away in search of the equaliser.

In one of the best moves of the game Jahmel Samuels found Ricky Saltus who crossed low into the six yard box but the ball evaded Burgess' outstretched boot. The same player then failed to make contact with a Gibbons' cross and when he sent a glancing header from a Walker cross wide of the post with the clock ticking down you knew it was just not to be.

Cougars' coach Albert Smith will have been pleased with the three points, but his side seem to like to do things the hard way and while good fortune has favoured them twice in the past two games if they are not careful it could run out before they learn how to kill teams off.

Dev.Cougars: R.Brangman; D.Brangman (L.Tota, 72 mins); O.Butterfield; S.Smith; M.Smith (L.Richardson, 84 mins); J.DeShields; D.Eve; K.Goddard; K.Steede; H.Wolfe; R.Beach.

Boulevard: S.Swan; T.Trott; R.Wilson; L.Hypolite; S.Wade (R.Burgess, 56 mins); J.Samuels; C.Trott; E.Farid (R.Saltus, 67 mins); M.Gibbons; T.Walker; S.Crockwell.

Booked: K.Goddard, R.Beach (Cougars).

Men of the match: J.DeShields (Cougars); T.Walker (Boulevard).

Referee: Richard Knight.

In women's league action, Hemisphere Royals came out on top of Rude Girls 2-1.

Just weeks after sending the FA Cup holders crashing out of that tournament, Royals inflicted yet another defeat on them, Clara Silva and Gorette Viera doing the damage. Chevonne Furbert replied for Rude Girls.