Dandy Town 2 St George’s 1

Dandy Town survived a late barrage of pressure to hang on to a vital victory over St George’s Colts at Goose Gosling Field yesterday.

The hosts came out of the blocks with intent, opening the scoring from a quick move through midfield, which came to the best possible finish when Cecoy Robinson squared for fellow attacker Angelo Simmons to tap home from close range.

Moments later, they nearly doubled their lead, with captain Tomiko Goater slipping Oneko Lowe through, but he only managed to fire his low shot straight at goalkeeper Freddie Hall.

Town continued to push for the second within the first ten minutes.

A free kick near the centre circle by Jomei Bean-Lindo was flicked on by Terrance Webb Jr, but the St George’s defence successfully shielded the loose ball back to Hall.

Neither side created any other chance of note in the opening 45 minutes, with the remainder of the half becoming a scrappy midfield battle.

St George’s did create a few half-chances as they grew into the game, but were left frustrated by poor decision-making when it mattered most.

The second half opened with the visitors really pushing for the equaliser, and they nearly got it within ten minutes of the restart after Osagi Bascome slipped in Jordan Darrell on the right flank in a dangerous position.

Darrell squared for fellow attacker Jarazinho Bassett, but his latter miscued his effort from close range as another opportunity went begging for St George’s.

The visitors had a penalty appeal denied moments later with Bascome being at the centre of it all. The attacker threaded another incisive pass in for Darrell, who was tackled late from behind by Webb, however, referee Dwight Jackson kept his whistle away from his lips, after assessing that the defender got the ball.

Things got worse for St George’s as midway through the second half, Town doubled their advantage with a well-worked goal.

From a corner on the left, possession was recycled through a series of quick passes around the edge of the penalty area, which displaced the St George’s defence and created space for Nizigh Spence to launch a rocket of a shot past a helpless Hall.

With a little more than ten minutes remaining, the already substituted Jelani Carlington received his walking orders from referee Anthony Francis for something he said from the bench after a late collision involving Town forward Simmons and St George’s defender Alleyne Francis — the latter being bundled into the corner flag at the northern end of the ground.

St George’s did find a consolation goal five minutes from time when a corner that was only partially cleared, was laid off by Darrell for Tyrell Burgess to rifle a strike from the edge of the area off the inside of the crossbar and past Jaiden Minors in the Dandy Town goal.

Town head coach Aaron Denkins welcomed the result and was clearly delighted with his side’s show of defensive resilience.

“We came together in a few moments of adversity,” Denkins said. “We defended the advantage really well, and I am delighted with the victory.”

SCORERS

Dandy Town: Simmons 5, Spence 71

St George’s: T Burgess 85

TEAMS

Dandy Town (4-3-3): J Manders 6 – E Blankendal 6, T Webb Jr 7, S Darrell 7, J Bean-Lindo 6 – N Spence 7, T Goater 7, A Furbert 6 – O Lowe 7, C Robinson 6, A Simmons 7. Substitutes not used: K Davis, M Mello-Cann, J Samuels, E Swan, J Richardson-Martin, A Simons. Booked: Simmons, Bean-Lindo, Darrell.

St George’s Colts (4-2-3-1): F Hall 6 – A Francis 6, D Signor 6, P Anderson 5, N Paynter 7 – J Carlington 6 (sub: K Ottley, 74), T Burgess 7 – J Burgess 6 (sub: D Darrell, 87), O Bascome 6, L Dill 6 (sub: J Darrell, 46 7) – J Bassett 6. Substitutes not used: J Brangman, B Swainson, G Wade, E Signor. Booked: Carlington, T Burgess. Sent off: Carlington.

Referee: D Jackson.

UPDATED: this article has been changed to correct that St George’s coach Jarreau Hayward was not shown a red card. It was instead a player on the bench.We apologise for any inconvenience caused.