Boulevard 6 Som Eagles 2

Boulevard added the second jewel of the First Division crown to their display cabinet yesterday with an emphatic 6-2 Shield triumph over defending champions Somerset Eagles at National Sports Centre.

In their first sortee into Eagles' territory barely 99 seconds into this affair Blazers drew first blood.

Rather than taking the safest route and clearing the ball upfield, Eagles' full back Adolphus Lambert instead opted to try and snake his way through a heavy maze of Blazers' players.

He was dispossessed by the alert Keith Jennings, who was then sent crashing to the ‘carpet' on the edge of the box.

Without warning, the gifted forward quickly stood up and smashed the free kick past Eagles' ‘keeper Adrian Burrows.

But before the celebrations had muted, Blazers struck once more and it was Jennings who again acclaimed the applause.

On this occasion he was on hand deep in Eagles' territory to redirect Tekeyhi Walker's cross from out on the left flank past the stranded Burrows.

Jolted, and now two goals down in the space of five minutes, Eagles set about assessing the damage.

They should have been back within a goal one minute later after a quickly taken free kick from out on the right triggered a frantic goalmouth scramble before the Blazers defence finally cleared away the danger.

Eagles' Sean Dill - uncharacteristically playing deep in his own territory - and the ever dangerous Lamaul Crofton combined well down the Blazers' left side, before the latter watched in disbelief as his shot curled just past the post.

Two minutes later, however, Eagles definitely should have been on the scoresheet after they were awarded a penalty.

But much to their chagrin, Blazers' ‘keeper Shejuan Swan encountered little difficulty in saving Desmond Burgess' attempt.

Eagles then saw Rodre Wilson and Ian Raynor's names enter into referee Anthony Mouchette's book - the latter after a crunching tackle on Boulevard captain Leroy Stevens.

Meanwhile, at the other end, Jennings kept the Eagles' defence alert, prompting Crofton to leave his post up front and come to the aid of his colleagues in defence.

Eagles, still unable to take the initiative in the middle of the park, allowed their opponents plenty of space, with Leonard Hypolite and Melchisedec Gibbons enjoying much of the possession.

However, on the half hour Eagles were back in the match.

As if time froze, Wilson's high outswinging free kick from out on the left was beautifully met by the onrushing Dion Woolridge, who rifled in a shot from just inside the area that Swan knew little about.

Unfazed, Blazers almost extended their lead moments before the half after Gibbons found himself in possession with Walker unmarked in the middle. However, instead of threading a pass to his colleague, he miserably shot into the side-netting.

Just as they had done in the first half, Boulevard scored again following the restart. However, this time they had a helping hand when Eagles defender Darnell Pickney watched in agony as his attempted clearance found its way past the hapless Burrows.

Undaunted, Eagles stormed back to keep their opponents at bay for long periods with both Wilson and Crofton coming close to erasing the deficit.

However, Blazers extended the margin in the 63rd minute after veteran defender Albert Caisey's attempted cross from out on the left flank somehow managed to deceive Burrows, the ‘keeper only able to get a finger to the ball as it floated into the goal.

Eagles made it 4-2 in the 71st minute. On this occasion captain Musceo Hunt made no mistake from the spot but Boulevard were not done just yet and with time winding down, Jahmah Samuels and late substitute Shaki Crockwell scored with two goals that ultimately clipped the final feathers out of Eagles' wings.

“First of all, I would like to say thanks to God for carrying us through and secondly, I would like to dedicate this victory to Mamma Samuels - one of our long time supporters who passed away some time ago,” said Blazers' captain Stevens after the match. “We have some of her grandchildren in the team, so we dedicate this one to her.”