St George’s Colts 7 Inter Bermuda 0

Senoj Mitchell scored his first senior hat-trick as St George’s Colts made a convincing start to their FA Cup title defence with an emphatic victory over Corona League side Inter Bermuda at Wellington Oval on Sunday.

The 23-year-old forward struck twice before the interval and completed his superb treble after the restart in a contest he and his team-mates dominated with slick ball movement, clinical finishing and superior fitness.

“It feels good to score my first hat-trick in senior football and help the team,” Mitchell told The Royal Gazette.

The player has been in prolific form of late, bagging five goals in his last three appearances, including the winner against North Village earlier this month, his first goal at senior level.

“I have been on a three-game goal run and I am always happy to score,” he added.

Drewonde Bascome, the St George’s coach, is delighted to see Mitchell consistently hitting the back of the net.

“It is good that he is finding himself in some good form right now,” he said.

“It’s a good time for him and he’s finding form when the team needs him the most really.”

“The performance was good and I was proud of my players,” Bascome added.

“We moved the ball well, took our chances and did not really give up much.

“It was a good game and I think the scoreline is a good reflection of it.”

Jahron Dickinson (2), Tah-Ki Tucker and Nzari Paynter were also on target for St George’s, while captain Kashe Hall had a penalty saved.

The hosts made a bright start and capitalised on their momentum when Mitchell headed in Hall’s corner to earn his team the early lead.

He then doubled his team’s advantage with a composed finish after being released by Hall’s defence-splitting pass.

Dickinson put the game beyond reach when he slotted past Inter stopper Jack Ferris after his defenders failed to intercept Tucker’s wayward pass.

Inter suffered another setback when forward Thales Francis went off with a suspected hamstring injury and had to be replaced.

Striker Tucker then made it 4-0 moments before the break after latching onto Isai Gibbons’ precision pass.

St George’s quickly picked up where they left off after the restart, with Tucker miskicking defender Jarryd Richardson’s inviting cross and Dickinson blasting the loose ball over the bar.

Mitchell completed his treble with another clinical finish after Inter conceded possession deep in their own half.

St George’s were awarded a penalty after Hall was tripped in the area as he raced towards goal, but Inter stopper Ferris was equal to the task, diving to his left to push Hall’s effort around the post.

Inter, who had an appeal for a penalty denied, were forced to make more unscheduled changes as the injuries continued to pile up.

Dickinson grabbed his second with a shot from outside the box that nestled into the bottom corner of the net, earning Hall his third assist.

Defender Paynter then took a touch to Gibbons’ dish-off in the box before firing past Ferris to cap his team’s resounding win.

Inter coach Stalin Naranjo cited costly errors for his team’s defeat and also took issue with the officiating.

“We came with high expectations but sometimes it’s nothing we can do about some of the decisions the referee made,” he said.

“We made specific mistakes we cannot make in this type of game. But the important thing is to play football and enjoy, and we will be back next year.”

SCORERS

St George’s Colts: S Mitchell 6, 16, 59, D Dickinson 40, 86, T Tucker 45, N Paynter 89

TEAMS

St George's Colts (4-3-3): J Hill 8 – J Richardson 8 (sub: Z McGuire, 72min), N Paynter 8, J Schroder 8, G Wade 8 (sub: D Lodge, 72) – C Neal 8, I Gibbons 8, K Hall 8 – S Mitchell 8 (sub: A O’Loughlin, 72), J Dickinson 7 (sub: O Bascome, 86), T Tucker (sub: M Simmons, 78). Substitutes not used: A Cannonier. A Simons. Booked: Simmons (sub).

Inter Bermuda (4-2-3-1): J Ferris 6 – A Triana 5 (sub: C Urrutia, 61 5), M Mota 5, A Gill (sub: C Bankole, 61 5) M Caldwell 5 – R Machado 6 (sub: D Asmad, 46 5), R McKittrick 6 – S Opiyo 5, T Francis 5 (sub: S Redmond, 42 5), L DaSilva 5 – T Derham 5 (sub: D McKittrick, 55 5). Substitutes not used: S Medran, N Anglin. Booked: DaSilva

Referee: A Majors.