Late Beach strike puts Town in final
Dandy Town 1Wolves 0Raymond Beach’s 85th minute strike was all that was needed to settle Dandy Town’s FA Cup semi-final against Wolves yesterday at Bernard Park.The showdown between Digicel Premier Division champions Hornets and First Division champions Wolves for a spot in the prestigious showpiece had little goalscoring opportunities until the fatal blow was struck for the ‘double’ hopefuls.“It was a hard game from start to finish, they came to play and made life very difficult for us so it was a matter of remaining calm,” said Town winger Damon Ming. “We never really got going from the opening whistle, but I’m glad we got the result and move on to the final.“It was not the same as playing a Premier Division side. They came out with a sense that it was all in this game and we had to match them, and you can see why they got promoted with the effort they put in today.“They can take a lot out of this game and they came to play and made it tough.”Wolves had the better of the opening exchanges and were unlucky to not have taken the lead in the opening ten minutes after seeing a goalward shot cleared off the line.The chance, however, was the only real opportunity of the first half as both sides failed to create pressure on the opposing defences in the attacking third.With a healthy set of fans from both factions on hand to witness the battle, it would be Wolves goalkeeper Daniel Adams who would become the focal point of the match in the second half.The keeper’s first duty of the second period was to block a close range effort from Town striker Angelo Simmons in the 53rd minute before pushing a Jamel Swan long range shot over the crossbar shortly after.Wolves substitute Ryan Nesbitt almost gave his side the lead when he rose to meet a corner but headed wide with Treadwell Gibbons coming out of his goal to apply pressure.Wolves were on the offensive again in the 77th minute, this time though striker Vincent Minors who was found in with a yard of space from a cutback, but his strike only managed to hit the inside of Town’s post before being cleared away.That would be the last of Wolves’ chances of snatching an unlikely win over their more fancied counterparts, with the Island’s most prolific striker, Beach, set to take centre stage.It was good inter-changing between Simmons, Ming and Beach that led to the latter shielding off his marker and slotting home past Adams to score the all-important first goal.He also had a chance in injury-time to grab a second, but his piledriver rattled the crossbar.With the win, Town booked their date in the final against North Village in two weeks’ time at the National Sports Centre, while for Wolves it was a season in which they reached their primary targets.“We came up against the best team in Bermuda, the Premier Division champions and they are on their way to the final but I can’t knock our players because we came out with hunger and a game plan and almost pulled it off,” said coach John Barry Nusum.“It only takes one chance from Raymond Beach to finish a game but overall we played well and I’m pleased with the effort.“We have gotten our goals for the season, which was promotion, and it was nice to come out and show Bermuda what we are made of and our us trying to come out with a win.“All in all it has been a good season and I wish Town the best in the final.”Dandy Town: T Gibbons, A Rocker (F Frankson, 70), K Tucker, A Lowe, B Minors, S Darrell, D Ming, J Swan (T Manders, 79), A Simmons, L Tucker, R Beach(S Tuzo, 61)Substitutes not used: W Place, D Chambers, Jahquille Stowe, Shannon Burchall,Goals: R Beach, 85Yellow card: D MingWolves: D Adams, J Nusum, H Burrows, T Davis (Kyle Brangman, 83), V Minors, D Brangman (R Nesbitt, 63), T Tucker, T Tucker, D Simons, L Paynter, J PenistonSubstitutes not used: S Daniels, R Ford, S LeeYellow cards: L Paynter, T DavisReferee: A FrancisMan of the Match: D Adams (Wolves)