Tuzo rescues Town with last-gasp goal
Dandy Town 1 Hamilton Parish 1Super sub Saki Tuzo rescued a point for nine-man Dandy Town with a last-gasp leveller against Hamilton Parish at St John’s Field yesterday.Tuzo struck deep inside injury-time to deny Premier Division newcomers Hot Peppers a third straight victory while maintaining Hornets’ undefeated start to the season.Hornets’ equaliser was all the more impressive considering they were reduced to nine men after Terrence Webb was sent off before the interval and Calin Maybury dismissed late on.Lorenzo Simmons gave the visitors the lead against the run of play on 37 minutes, volleying home from the edge of the area after Town goalkeeper Treadwell Gibbons flapped at a free kick taken just inside Hornets’ half.Despite seeing his side denied at the death, Hot Peppers coach Keishon Smith said he was thrilled with his players’ workaholic performance against a top-flight title contender.“We would have certainly taken a point against Dandy Town before the game,” he said. “We had a very defensive set up today and our plan was to absorb their pressure and frustrate them.“The plan worked perfectly because they got frustrated and had two men sent off.“In fact, the plan worked perfectly until pretty much the last kick of the game.”Smith, who led Hot Peppers to the First Division title last season, insisted his side’s main aim remained survival despite their encouraging start to the campaign.“We’ve managed to build a little platform for ourselves with the start we’ve had,” said the former Devonshire Colts coach.“Survival is still the aim, although maybe we can try and achieve a little bit more now.“We’re definitely here to compete but there’s still plenty of work to do.“All in all, it was a very pleasing performance for us today and we forced Dandy Town, a title contender, into rescuing a point.”Hornets dominated the first half but failed to capitalise on their superior swathes of possession, battering Parish’s goal although shot stopper Nigel Burgess was more than equal to the task.The hosts grew increasingly frustrated after Simmons’ opener with defender Webb seeing red soon after following a reckless challenge on Hot Peppers’ livewire striker Ian Coke.After the interval Town continued to push hard for an equaliser but the visitors stood firm, absorbing the pressure and looking to launch the counterattack.Shayne Hollis missed a good chance to double Hot Peppers’ lead, dragging an effort wide, before substitute Romaine Smith was pulled down by Town’s Maybury who was dismissed for a professional foul.Parish looked on course to claim all three points but Tuzo had other ideas after being put through by Angelo Simmons and finishing smartly past Burgess to earn his side a point.Dandy Town: T Gibbons, J Stowe, B Minors, C Maybury, T Webb, R Tyrell (D Butterfield, 75), A Simmons, J Swan, D Ming, A Lowe, F Frankson (S Tuzo, 70)Substitutes not used: T Butterfield, Z Burchall, E TrottGoal: Tuzo, 96Yellow cards: Gibbons, Frankson, ButterfieldRed cards: Webb, MayburyHamilton Parish: N Burgess, C Hansey, W Caines, Q Glasford (D Thompson, 58), K Cann, R Richardson, C Hill (R Smith, 58), L Simmons, I Coke (Vince-Douglas, 65), S Hollis, P RichardsonSubstitutes not used: C Clarke, J Outerbridge, Swan, k RichardsonGoal: Simmons, 37Referee: K EvanMan of the match: Burgess (Hamilton)