Paget 1 Wolves 2

Wolves stepped into the Lions’ den at Southampton Oval on Saturday and came away with all three points.

Second-half strikes from Torque Outerbridge and Samario Valasse-Paul helped Wolves move off the bottom of the Premier Division and above Hamilton Parish, who play St George’s at Wellington Oval on Sunday.

In a cagey first half, neither side were able to get the upper hand in an aggressive midfield battle, although Wolves were far more composed in possession and had the better of the chances.

Wide players Jeremiah Steede and Outerbridge were heavily involved thanks to the composure in possession of Valasse-Paul and Khari Sharieff. They played in front of Jahmori Martin, who executed the defensive midfield role to a very high level against a normally potent Paget attack.

Paget struggled to break down the Wolves defence, although captain Diaje Hart slowly grew into the first half, especially in periods when the away side allowed them to have possession.

Hart tried to use the pace of Shakir Smith and Rio Russell to break through the channels, but Wolves’ Krishun Douglas and Lamelle Paynter showed strong defensive positioning to keep them at bay and whenever Paget did string a few penetrative passes together, Wolves’ midfield and defence communicated to solid effect to successfully shield goalkeeper Gatwoine Minors.

Wolves had the best scoring opportunity of the first half, with Valasse-Paul being fed by Khiari Sharieff-Hayward in the right channel. His cross was met by Jarred Douglas, whose shot from close range forced a reflex save with his left foot by Paget keeper Omari Deshields. Sharrieff dragged the rebound wide.

Struggling to break down their opponents, Paget wasted little time in changing their approach by introducing physical striker Delray Rawlins in the second half, and he was involved straight away after getting on the end of some direct passes.

However, moments after that tactical switch Paget fell behind to a moment of magic from Outerbridge. He cut inside on to his left foot and whipped a beautiful strike into the far post past the despairing dive of Deshields to give Wolves a deserved lead.

Less than five minutes later, they doubled their lead after Paget failed to clear an Outerbridge corner. Tristen Davis headed the ball away but Valasse-Paul took the loose ball on the full volley and smashed it through the arms of Deshields.

It was then that Paget finally woke up and started to find their way back into the game with some dangerous attacks.

Their intent paid off when Diaje Hart was brought down by Wolves substitute Kyle Brangman just inside the penalty area. Hart brushed himself off and smashed the spot-kick hard down the middle to give the home side a lifeline with 20 minutes left.

Sharrieff could have restored Wolves’ two-goal cushion in the final minutes but his powerful effort from about 25 yards was tipped over the crossbar by Deshields.

Paget thought they had equalised right before the final whistle, but substitute Kushae Hypolite was judged offside before he cut back for Tristen Davis to fire into an unguarded net.

SCORERS

Paget: Hart 70 pen

Wolves: Outerbridge 57, Valasse-Paul 61

TEAMS

Paget Lions (4-2-3-1): O Deshields 6 – K Simons 5, J Carpenter 6, R Deshields 6, D Cook 5 – D Joell 5 (sub: K Hypolite, 59min 5), T Davis 6 – S Smith 5, D Hart 6, R Russell 5 (sub: D Rawlins, 55 5) – A Grant 5 (sub: N Carpenter, 55 5). Substitutes not used: D Swan, K Durrant, O Tucker, J Morrissey.

Wolves (4-2-3-1): G Minors 5 – K Douglas 6, K Sharrieff-Hayward 6, A Brangman 6, L Paynter 6 – J Martin 7, K Sharrieff 6 – T Outerbridge 7 (sub: K Brangman, 67 4), S Valasse-Paul 6 (sub: J Smith, 80), J Steede 6 (sub: M Ming, 64 4) – J Douglas 5 (sub: A Butterfield, 64 5). Substitutes not used: K Browne, S Wild, L Matthews. Booked: Sharrieff-Hayward

Referee: C Hinds (Trinidad)