Hamilton Parish 2 St George’s Colts 2

Hamilton Parish were left to rue missed opportunities as landlords St George’s Colts grabbed a late equaliser to earn a share of the spoils at Wellington Oval yesterday.

The Hot Peppers created clear cut chances either side of the interval to have come away with all of the points from this entertaining Premier Division contest but were unable to capitalise when scoring seemed easier.

This allowed St George’s to stay in the hunt and their persistence ultimately paid off when forward Manoj Paynter pounced on loose defending to rescue a hard-fought point that he and his fellow colleagues probably didn’t deserve.

“We had enough chances to win it,” Parish coach Sergio Goater told The Royal Gazette. “At times it was an even game because they had chances to too.

“I think it was a hard fought point to take but we could have gotten that victory easily.

“We have to see games out. Basically it was two goals that came from lapse in concentration so we have to work that out.”

St George’s coach Jarreau Hayward praised his team’s character to come from behind and salvage a point.

“Credit to the guys, they definitely showed some character,” he said. “Going down a goal late like that in previous seasons maybe we would’ve lost that game so it’s definitely a point gained.

“It’s a point gained and we will see what it looks like at the end of the season.

“But for now our priority is to get better, recover from injuries and continue to improve.”

Parish came out swinging from the opening kick off and threw numbers forward in search of an early breakthrough.

Forward Leroy Lewis brought off a save from St George’s custodian Jahquil Hill while striker Macquille Walker blasted over after being afforded time and space on the left side of the area.

Hill was then called into action again to gather Parish midfielder Samario Valasse – Paul’s cross come shot.

St George’s were forced to defend for long spells but nearly snatched the lead against the grain when midfielder Jibri Salaam rose above the defence but saw his free header soar over the bar.

Parish spurned two glorious opportunities as the game opened up a bit. Walker drove forward and released Valasse-Paul who angled his effort wide off Hill’s far post.

Walker then showed the St George’s defence a clean pair of heels but also dragged his shot wide.

These missed opportunities came back to haunt Hot Peppers as St George’s grabbed the lead against the run of play to turn the match on its head.

Winger Paynter whipped in a low cross which midfielder Jarazinho Bassett drilled in at the back post after the Parish defence failed to react.

Hill then saved Walker’s effort from inside of the area to preserve his team’s advantage at the break.

St George’s started the second half on the front foot with central defender Zuhri Burgess clearing away Bassett’s inviting low cross as Salaam shaped to shoot inside the area.

Parish right back Rory McKittrick then made himself big to block Paynter’s shot from the left side of the box.

After weathering the storm, Parish equalised when Walker turned sharply in the area and buried Justin Bell’s threaded pass in heavy traffic.

The same two players then combined again to put Parish ahead for the first time. Bell drove forward and slipped the ball into open space behind the defence which Walker finished with aplomb.

Walker should have sewn the game up and completed his hat-trick when Hill’s attempted clearance from Bell’s through pass in the area ricocheted off the striker’s body and rolled into his path. But with a wide open goal at his mercy Walker fired his shot over the bar.

It proved to be a costly miss as Paynter reacted quickest to substitute Tyrell Burgess’s free-kick to bring the teams level again.

Parish pressed on for a winner but were denied by St George’s goalkeeper Hill and central defender Amon Simons who were both equal to the task coming down the home stretch.

SCORERS

Hamilton Parish: Walker 61, 69

St George’s: Bassett 36, Paynter 82

TEAMS

Hamilton Parish (4-2-3-1): N Burgess 7 – K Knights 7, M Turner 7, Z Burgess 7, R McKittrick 7 (sub: K Wade, 89min) – S Valasse-Paul 7 (sub: J Stowe, 89), S McKittrick 7 – L Lewis 7, J Bell 8 C Lindo (sub: T Welch, 75 5) – Walker 8. Booked: Burgess, Lewis, Valasse-Paul.

St George’s (4-3-3): J Hill 7 – N Paynter 7 (sub: A Francis, 62 6), A Simons 7, P Anderson 8 (sub: T Burgess, 75 6), A Cannonier 6 (G Wade, 75 6) — J Salaam 7, K Minors 7, K Hall 7 – M Paynter 8, J Bassett 7, C Burns 7 (sub: D Lodge, 89). Substitutes not used: W White, J Carlington, E Signor. Booked: M Paynter, Burns, Minors, Salaam.

Referee: A Francis.