Paget 0 St George’s 0

Paget and St George’s cancelled each other out in their mid-table Premier Division clash at Southampton Oval on Sunday.

With both sides not having much in the league to play for, being clear of the relegation zone and too far off championship-winning pace, it was St George’s who came out with positive intent and kept the majority of possession.

Paget struggled to contain their opponents’ quick passing and movement as St George's probed confidently in the first 20 minutes and their biggest opportunity came when Kashe Hall passed into the feet of Quadir Maynard. He slipped Senoj Mitchell into space on the left flank and just as his shot into the far corner, Paget goalkeeper Shaquille Bean made a beautiful reflex save.

The home side gradually started to find their passing game and started to properly make use of striker Delray Rawlins, who missed a gilt-edged chance from Aquino Grant’s floated pass midway through the first period.

St George's created their second notable moment when Jahron Dickinson swung a corner towards the near post. Mitchell back-heeled it, but Nelson Carpenter was there to clear it off the line.

Paget constructed their best attacking move of the day just before half time when Carpenter played a short pass to Cook, who spread the play beautifully for Hart on the opposite side. The Paget captain then made a perfect angled pass for Grant to run on to and strike first time, but St George’s goalkeeper Jahquil Hill made a fabulous save to deny the left winger.

Paget made a half-time change as Rawlins was replaced by Dion Stovell, but St George’s started the second half exactly as they did in the first. However, Paget were quicker to cut out the passing lanes into attacking trio Mitchell, Maynard and Blaiz Hall.

The challenges began to intensify and the midfield battle became physical, with Paget’s creative fulcrum Hart often finding his way past multiple St George's players to find his intended targets.

Neither side played with enough quality in the attacking third to deserve victory and both defences coped well with the huge number of crosses coming into each penalty area.

St George's tried to alter their style midway through the second half, with Macai Simmons entering the fold to replace captain Kashe Hall. Simmons was introduced as an additional physical presence but Paget had the characters in their ranks to handle any pressure.

Simmons could have been the hero about five minutes from time after Mitchell was taken down illegally by Kyjah Simons near the edge of their attacking penalty area. However, he smashed his free kick straight into the Paget defensive wall.

A mini-scramble ensued towards the end as Paget striker Omari Tucker attempted to jump for a free kick and knocked the ball out of the clutch of Hill.

TEAMS

Paget (4-2-3-1): S Bean 6 – K Simons 6, R Deshields 6, J Carpenter 6, N Carpenter 5 – D Cook 5, D Joell 5 (sub: K Hypolite, 74min) – A Grant 5 (sub: T Davis, 55 5), D Hart 5 (sub: O Tucker, 87), S Smith 5 – D Rawlins 5 (sub: D Stovell, 46 5). Substitutes not used: A Russell, J Morrissey, J Tucker. Booked: Cook, Tucker.

St George’s (4-2-3-1): J Hill 6 – J Richardson 6 (sub: I Gibbons, 80), N Paynter 6, J Schroder 6, G Wade 5 (sub: J Bassett, 60 5) – C Neal 6, Q Maynard 6 – B Hall 5, K Hall 5 (sub: M Simmons, 69 5), S Mitchell 5 – J Dickinson. Substitutes not used: A O’Loughlin, T Tucker, O Bascome, D Lodge.

Referee: T Adams