Dandy Town 1 Boulevard 1

Declaring himself well short of fitness, Boulevard's Tekeyhi Walker nevertheless turned the game on its head when he scored with his first touch of the ball after coming off the bench yesterday.

In what turned out to be an inspired substitution by coach John Rebello, Walker came on in the 66th minute and was celebrating just seconds later, his first-time shot beating Jason Smith.

That strike cancelled out Town's opener, a long-range effort after a solo run by Kingsley Mundy in the 24th minute, and made an unsightly fracas between young trouble-causers in the St. John's Field car park at half-time a distant memory.

It was a match that the Hornets bossed until Walker's introduction, the pendulum swinging firmly in the Blazers' direction once he was on.

"When I scored the goal it brought up everybody's confidence," Walker said by way of explanation.

The player has been recovering from an ankle injury and yesterday's action, though only 24 minutes long, was the first he had seen this season.

"I had a slight injury and that has recovered but I just need to get fit," he said. "The coach told me to play right up on the (penalty) spot because he and I know I am not fit right now. He told me to play 18 to 18, get the ball, release the ball."

As for the goal, Walker said there wasn't much else he could have done.

"I knew when I had to go on the field I had to pass the ball early or shoot early," he said.

Prior to the equaliser Boulevard had not looked like they would find their way past the otherwise excellent Smith. Town played with more cohesion and it was somewhat surprising they only managed to beat Shejuan Swan the once.

Mundy's strike was the first serious threat on the Boulevard goal but when the chance came he took it. When a Blazers attack broke down in their opponent's box, Mundy collected the ball and ran forward. What remained of the Boulevard defence stood off him, giving him plenty of real estate to run into. It seemed certain that he would pass to either his left or right, where he had ample support, but when no challenges came Mundy unleashed a low shot which skidded off the wet surface and nestled in the corner of the goal.

On 27 minutes, Town had a chance to double their lead when Lionel Furbert hooked a terrific ball over a defender's head for Jared Peniston, on the left wing, to run onto. He took a touch and made the byline, but his cross was too near the 'keeper who was able to save down low.

Two minutes later Peniston hit a deep cross to the far post where Seyoum Tuzo attempted an audacious Van Basten-style volley. Unfortunately, he did not possess the legendary Dutchman's accuracy and the ball sailed over the bar.

As Town continued to put the pressure on their rivals, a neat backheel from Khano Smith set up Tuzo again but once more his shot had too much elevation.

The start of the second period was held up for a couple of minutes by the skirmish in the car park, one member of the public having to jump from a wall onto the pitchside after he was confronted by several youths swinging helmets.

Fortunately, order was restored soon after and the presence of Police ten or 15 minutes later until the end of the game prevented any further violence from breaking out.

Boulevard's Conneko Trott fired a free-kick from distance just wide as his side sought a way back into the match in the 64th minute, but it took the substitution of Shaki Crockwell for the aforementioned Walker for things to really liven up.

Walker scored with his first touch then Raymond Burgess shot from a tight angle and forced Smith to turn the ball around the post as they sought the winner.

Stanton Lewis was then put through on goal but Smith saw the threat early and came out to block.

Then for a moment it appeared that Walker might add to his tally when some super close control by the number two saw him beat two players before shooting. However, Smith was equal to the challenge and plucked the ball out of the air to ensure the points were shared.

Dandy Town: J.Smith; J.Simons (K.Hurdle, 55 mins); R.Swan; D.Lawler; M.Lowe; K.Mundy; L.Furbert; S.Wilson (L.Dill, 73 mins); J.Peniston (V.Hill, 79 mins); S.Tuzo; K.Smith.

Boulevard: S.Swan; R.Wilson (D.Cox, 57 mins); S.Lewis; L.Stevens; T.Davis; E.Farid (J.Samuels, 43 mins); C.Simmons; C.Trott; M.Gibbons; R.Burgess; S.Crockwell (T.Walker, 66 mins).

Yellow cards: K.Smith, K.Hurdle (Town); T.Davis, L.Stevens (Boulevard).

Men of the match: D.Lawler (Town); T.Walker (Boulevard).

Referee: L.Raynor.