X-Roads 6 Dandy Town 0

Donovan Thompson continued his assault on the top flight with another four goals as X-Roads thumped Dandy Town at Garrison Field yesterday.

The game was as lopsided as the scoreline suggests, and was effectively over in the first half as Thompson and Paul Simons ran riot scoring two goals each.

The Harrington Sound outfit, now only in their second season in the Premier Division, sit top of the table having won six of the first seven games.

Coach Khomeini Talbot, standing in for Farid El Karfa insists that the focus continues to be on improving the team.

“Today was an excellent result, and we have had a really good start to the season, but at this point, it’s still one game at a time.

“We recognise that we still have deficiencies and our goal is to improve.”

The sentiments were the same as it pertains to their new signing who leads the league in goals.

“Donovan’s record so far speaks for itself and he has done very well with his transition into the team, but again, our focus is to make sure he continues to improve and grow in his role.”

The backdrop of the match was set in the first ten minutes when Thompson scored the first of two very similar goals.

After chasing down a back-pass to goalkeeper Treadwell Gibbons, the tall forward blocked the attempted clearance and was left with the easy task of walking the ball into an empty net.

Simons scored two well-struck goals from either side of the goal within ten minutes. The first was from the right side as he shot hard and low into the far corner. The second required a bit more work as the midfielder drove past two Town defenders and struck a left-footed shot that found the other bottom corner of the goal.

The telling blow came just before the half when Thompson chased down another back pass to Gibbons, blocked the attempted clearance with his body this time, and once again finished into an empty net.

X-Roads picked up where they left off ten minutes into the second half when Thompson got on the end of a Simons cross, to complete his hat-trick.

Thompson closed out the scoring in the 67th minute, as he tapped in a knock-down from substitute José Sánchez.

Town did have a few opportunities to grab a consolation goal, but by now, even their attempts at goal reflected a team that had been well beaten. The defeat is their third in a row, and they now sit only one point outside the relegation zone.

SCORERS

X-Roads

Thompson 15, 45, 55, 67 Simons 22, 28

X-Roads (4-4-2): J Burrows — A Burgess (sub: N Richardson 55min), J Furbert, K Wilkinson, L Simmons — A Heyliger (sub: J Sanchez 63), T Daniels, P Richardson, J Dickinson — P Simons (sub: D Baker 75), D Thompson. Substitutes not used: O Williams, R Beek, K Hamilton, T Lowe.

Dandy Town (4-3-3): T Gibbons — E Blankendal, K Steede, K Lathan, T Manders — L Emery (sub: N Smith, 55), S Darrell, O Wilson (sub J Eve, 73) — J Richardson-Martin, J Swan, A Simmons. Substitutes not used: N Eversley, G Liburd, T Hall, I Blankendal, J Johnson. Booked: Steede.

Referee: M Wyer.