Devonshire Colts 4 Flanagan’s Onions 1

What better way to start the first day of the new year than by being victorious and lifting a piece of silverware?

Devonshire Colts did just that with an entertaining performance to beat Flanagan’s Onions in the Shield Trophy final at Somerset Cricket Club yesterday. Two goals on either side of the break by a youthful Colts outfit brought delight to their head coach Ray Jones.

“I expected Onions to come out with more intensity since they pulled one back just before the break, but it never came,” Jones said.

“This is a young team, so I challenged the guys to step up and win the game in their first final and they delivered convincingly. This was a great achievement and the future looks good. We will now move on and focus on the league.”

Colts started the game in attacking fashion and nearly scored after only two minutes. A corner was floated to the back post where Chemari Henry was left unmarked but his first time volley went into the side netting.

Onions’ midfielder Treshun Smith was kept busy as his hard-hitting tackles were breaking up many Colts attacks. On one such tackle, Smith grazed his knee showing blood and had to leave the field to be treated.

Colts immediately capitalised on their one-man advantage and found the net. Seanoj Mitchell did some work getting down the right flank before squaring into the centre to find captain Jahkeylo Burgess who had the simple task of side footing the ball beyond Lejaun Matthews, the Onions’ goalkeeper, to open the scoring.

Colts scored their second in similar fashion after 29 minutes when Charles Trott unleashed Mitchell, whose cross to the top of the penalty area found Jibri Salaam.

His shot beat the outstretched arm of the diving Matthews. Onions thought they had scored when Akim Johnston was put through and headed over the outstretched arms of advancing goalkeeper Jaden Mills-Furbert. However, Johnston’s effort was ruled offside.

Jecoa Thomas threatened Colts with two back-to-back free kicks. The first was fumbled before being collected on the second attempt by Mills-Furbert and the second forced the goalkeeper to palm away a cross that was cleared to safety. Onions’ pressure paid off when they scored with the last kick before the interval. A half clearance from a corner found Thomas wide on the left and his hard, low shot into the crowded goalmouth made its way into the bottom left-hand corner to the surprise of Mills-Furbert, who appeared to have it covered.

Colts always looked the more dangerous off the two teams and midway through the half, Henry jumped the highest to Jahkeylo Burgess’s free kick and planted his header past a flat-footed Matthews.

Mitchell then closed the scoring out when he beat goalkeeper Matthews for pace as his spot kick sailed into the net after a Colts attacker was fouled in the area.

Colts continued their dominance and had the ball in back of the net again when captain Burgess went on a solo effort beating three defenders, including the goalkeeper before tapping into an empty net. Howeverm his effort was disallowed as an attacking player was adjudged to have fouled the goalkeeper in the process.

Onions should have scored a consolation goal with the last kick of the game but substitute Mikale Williams’s tame shot went straight into the arms of Mills-Furbert.

GOALS

Devonshire Colts: Burgess 10, Salaam 29, Henry 75, Mitchell 81

Flanagan’s Onions: Thomas 44

TEAMS

Devonshire Colts (4-3-3): J Mills-Furbert – San-tze Burgess, C Trott, T Foote, F Lima — B Rose (sub: R Smith-Jones, 58min), D Richardson (sub: J Paynter, 73) J Salaam — C Henry, Jahkeylo Burgess, S Mitchell (sub: B Robinson, 88). Substitutions not used: N Raynor, M Bean-Brown, M Hardtman, J Hein, J Francis. Booked: C Henry, Jahkeylo Burgess, R Smith-Jones.

Flanagan’s Onions (4-3-3): L Matthews — A Johnston, J Thomas, D Lehner, C Berkeley — T Smith, A Rocker, S Campbell (sub: M Laws, 22) — C Burns (sub:M Williams, 73), Z Simmons (sub: C Kierans, 86), V Panic. Substitutions not used: K Simmons, T Godfrey, Eli Smith, J Holland. Booked: S Campbell, T Smith, J Thomas, Z Simmons.

Referee: D Jackson.