Wolves 0 Dandy Town 2

David Jones Jr struck twice for Dandy Town to take their unbeaten run to seven matches and steer his side to the top of the Premier Division at Goose Gosling Field on Sunday.

Jones scored in the twelfth minute and two minutes into added time at the end of the game to take his league tally to eight goals, with the win moving Hornets above North Village on 20 points.

“It was a tough game coming back from winning the Friendship Trophy,” Jones told The Royal Gazette.

“Not everything went our way at first, but in the end it worked out. Our defence worked hard and then we got chances that we put away to get the job done.

“I could have scored a hat-trick if I had put away the one-on-one chance with the keeper, but I’m happy with the two goals.

“We've moved on from the last time we lost a game and we’re right where we want to be. We celebrated winning the Friendship Trophy and the ultimate goal is the league for us, so we’re going to push and get better as the league goes on.”

Kyle Lightbourne, whose side have not tasted defeat since October 6 when they lost 1-0 to Village, wants his players to remain focused as they embark on a title challenge.

“I’m happy that we’re on top,” Lightbourne said. “It was always going to be a tricky game for us after winning the trophy with the guys enjoying themselves a little bit.

“We scored early and took control of the game, and eventually we did the job that was required. We don’t have a game in hand any more as we've now played the same amount of games as North Village.

“We are one point ahead of Village and the psychological games start now when it comes to the top of the table. One team plays and they win, it puts pressure on the other team.

“We've been averaging at least two goals a match, and I think we can go further from here if we can up our game a little bit more. I’m going to try and keep my guys grounded as we grow from strength to strength.”

A seventh defeat for Wolves leaves them rooted to the bottom of the standings with seven points. However, Vincent Minors Jr, Wolves’ assistant coach, is confident they can turn things around in the remaining fixtures.

“Tactically we knew it wasn't going to be easy as our opponents are top of the table for a reason,” Minors said.

“Our game plan was working well and we stayed compact even after conceding the first goal. We had chances to equalise, the players put in a shift and that’s all we could ask for.

“I feel that tactically we are doing a few things right and we feel that a couple of games that we lost, we shouldn’t have. Once we take care of our mistakes, we’ll definitely have a better chance of survival.”

Town made a bright start when Jones connected with a long ball from Amar Lewis and rounded Chiquon Smith to score, with Angelo Simmons coming close for Town on the half-hour as he forced Smith into a brilliant save.

Seven minutes before the break, Khari Sharrieff came up with a great block to deny Jones, who wasted two glorious chances at the start of the second half, both after passes by captain Tomiko Goater.

Wolves created their best chance in the 58th minute when Sharrieff threaded a pass to Kydan Browne, but his effort went over the bar before Sharrieff was denied by some superb goalkeeping by Toran Place, who pushed his effort out for a corner.

Relentless pressure resulted in Town’s winner. Goater managed to get the ball through just before he tumbled under a challenge and Jones held his composure to score his twelfth goal since making the switch back to his boyhood club from Young Men's Social Club at the beginning of the season.

“I’m looking for 20 goals in all competitions this season,” Jones said.

“We still have the league and the FA Cup to play for. I’m really enjoying the free-flowing football we’re playing that’s allowing me to score goals and that’s exactly what I came back for.”

SCORERS

Dandy Town: Jones 12, 90+2

TEAMS

Wolves (4-5-1): C Smith 5 – K Douglas 5, K Sharrieff 6, K Sharrieff-Hayward 6, J Martin 5 – J Smith 5 (sub: A Brangman, 43min 5), D Bothelo 5 (sub: G Minors, 53 5), Jahmi Douglas 5 (sub: M Ming, 78), J Steede 5 (sub: K Brangman, 78), K Browne 5 – Jarred Douglas 5 (sub: M McGowan, 78). Substitutes notused: A Butterfield. Booked: Bothelo

Dandy Town (3-2-4-1): T Place 6 – E Blankendal 6, Danté Leverock 7, T Webb 6 – E Moore 6, A Lewis 6 (sub: E Outerbridge, 73) – A Simmons 6 (sub: T Smith, 88), A Trott 6 (sub: J Furbert, 78), T Goater 8, L Outerbridge 6 – D Jones 8. Substitutes not used: M Isaac, A Daniels, J Manders, Dakayo Leverock

Referee: M Wyer.