Hamilton Parish 3 Dandy Town Hornets 1

Hamilton Parish Hot Peppers finished the first half of the league season on a positive note as with a hard-fought 3-1 win over Dandy Town Hornets at Wellington Oval on Saturday afternoon.

Parish scored two unanswered goals in the second half to break the half-time deadlock and hand coach Sergio Goater an early Christmas present.

“The hard work we put in paid off”, stated an excited Goater. “The first two goals came from the pressure we put on them to force mistakes and we capitalised. It is nice to finish this half of the season with a positive result as we go into the break.”

Both teams took time to settle after kick-off with a strong crosswind hampering their ability to play, but Parish eventually found their rhythm as Shane Hollis controlled Kion Knights’ cross before forcing Town goalkeeper Daniel Johnson to dive to his left to gather his low drive.

Johnson had to be at his best again when Jordan Outerbridge flicked a header into the path of MacQuille Walker, whose firm snap-shot from an angle brought about an acrobatic save from the goalkeeper as he pushed the ball over the crossbar.

Parish’s pressure finally paid off when Knights drove Walker’s through ball into the centre for Aaron Nelson to bundle over the line to open the scoring.

Town responded immediately as Cecoy Robinson forced Parish goalkeeper Nigel Burgess to make a point-blank save as they searched for the equaliser and just minutes later Town levelled when captain Angelo Simmons met Dante Scraders’ cross to head past Burgess’s outstretched arms as the teams entered the break on even terms.

Parish started the second half and continued their high press to force turnovers in midfield, which resulted in the go-ahead goal. After winning possession in midfield, Walker was put through and toe-poked the ball around the onrushing Johnson before side-footing into the empty net. Substitute Samuel McKittrick had the opportunity to put the game out of reach when he ran on to Outerbridge’s cutback only for Johnson to make a fine save with his feet.

Although being outplayed, Town pressed for an equaliser as Robinson and Simmons combined well but the latter shot straight at the goalkeeper from the top of the box while Nizigh Spence’s drive from Jahzion Talbot-Thomas’s cross was gathered well at the second attempt by Burgess.

Parish put the game out of reach when Outerbridge fed McKittrick, who then cut inside to draw Johnson before slipping the ball to substitute Che Lindo for a simple tap-in.

SCORERS

Hamilton Parish

A Nelson 27, M Walker 77, C Lindo 88

Dandy Town

A Simmons 31

TEAMS

Hamilton Parish (4-2-3-1): N Burgess 7 --- K Knights 6, K Wade 6, M Hill 6, M Turner 5 --- Q Outerbridge 6 (sub: S McKittrick, 65min 7), Z Burgess 6 ---A Nelson 7, S Hollis 7, J Outerbridge 7 --- M Walker 7 (sub: C Lindo, 82). Substitutes not used: S Burgess, J Costa, K Richardson. Booked: Q Outerbridge.

Dandy Town Hornets (4-1-4-1): D Johnson 7 --- J Bean-Lindo 6, T Webb 6, S Darrell 6, A Furbert 5 --- J Johnson 5 (sub: M Parsons, 59 5) --- T Goater 5 (sub: S Tatem, 75), A Simmons 6, N Spence 6, D Scraders 6 (sub: C Henry, 59 5) --- C Robinson 6 (sub: J Talbot-Thomas, 81). Substitutes not used: J Butterfield, Z Hart. Booked: J Bean-Lindo, T Webb.

Referee: K Williams (Trinidad)