Waterhouse Escape with a Victory at Boys’ Town.

On Sunday November 12^th Boys’ Town entertained league leaders Waterhouse at Collie Smith Drive.   Earlier in the week BT was able to secure a point away from home in their match against Harbour view and they were certainly hoping to upset the apple cart when they hosted the undefeated Waterhouse FC.  Earlier in the day the U-21 of both teams put on an exciting game that eventually saw Boys’ town coming away victors by the score of 2-1.

There was a very good crowd on hand for the start of this game and once referee Kevin Brown blew his whistle to start the game the action began.  Boys’ Town immediately took to the attack with the idea to get an early goal and thus put the defending champions on the defensive.  This was not to be as the champions weathered the storm and began to move the ball around and attack in their own right.  The result was a very faced paced game with both teams looking to control the middle of the field.  Boys’ Town striker Peter Keyes was very troublesome for the Waterhouse defence and almost scored with a powerful right foot shot and would have certainly scored if not for the ball deflecting off the head of one of the defenders.  National representative Oneil Thompson thought he had broke the deadlock with a beauty of a shot only to have Richard McCallum pull off an excellent save as he was able to get a glove to the shot even though he was moving in the wrong direction.  This was just one of the EXCELLENT saves made by McCallum which received loud cheers by the spectators at the venue.

Waterhouse in their own right had some excellent opportunities with Garfield Reid hitting the upright on one occasion as well as Roberto Fletcher who in one instance turned his defender the wrong way and hit a beauty of a shot only to see the BT goal keeper go full stretch and put the shot over the cross bar.  It was clear that BT was having the better of the game as they continued to take the fight to Waterhouse with their short snappy passes.  Once again they were very guilty of poor finishing and would later rue their many missed opportunities.  Despite the end-to-end action the half finished in a scoreless deadlock with all patrons looking forward to much of the same in the second half.

On the resumption the game picked up right where the first half finished with both teams actively looking for the go ahead goal.  But it remained BT getting the more clear-cut opportunities to score and not capitalizing.  Garfield Gillespie was unable to score from the six yard line with the waterhouse GK nowhere in the picture as he sent his shot over the cross bar.  Michael Campbell after receiving a defence splitting pass from George Vernal blasted his shot at the Waterhouse GK who once again proved that as the National GK to beat him you had better bring your ‘A’ Game. Not to be out done Waterhouse coach Barrington Gaynor adjusted his line-up and made two quick substitutions to add fresh legs with more creativity and firepower.  This immediately paid off, as Damion Williams was able to latch on to a Richard McCallum long goal kick and scored with a well-taken shot.  Also the introduction of Kevin Lamey meant that BT had to adjust and now pay attention to this prolific goal scorer who began to make inroads into their defence. Despite these adjustments by both teams this did not slow he tempo of the game as BT went in search of the equalizer and again muffed a glorious opportunity when Garfield Gillespie pounced on a rebound from McCallum in the 18 yard area only to slip and fall down at the crucial point of slotting the ball into the empty net.

The game continued in this vein until the final whistle with the final score Waterhouse –1 Boys’ Town –0.  This was a very good game with both teams giving their all and displaying very good football.  The spectators all left feeling that this was what the Premier League was all about and that they had received value for their dollar.  Losing coach Andrew price thought his team played a good game but felt that if you do not capitalize on your missed opportunities then you will pay the price while winning Coach Barrington Gaynor felt that it is always good to get a win away from home.  He felt that the adjustments that they made at half time as well as the changes made in the second half certainly paid dividends for his team.

During the half time interval Boys’ Town paid tribute to Tank Weld for their unwavering support to football and in fact presented a plaque to Mr. Bruce Bicknell for his assistance in the continuing development of the infrastructure at Boys’ Town.

Starting Teams

Boys’ Town – Kirk Porter, Carlton Aiken, Xavean Virgo, Fabian Watkins, Asrick Samuels, Oneil Thompson, Garfield Gillespie, Troy Dawes, Michael Campbell, Peter Keyes, George Vernal.

Waterhouse – Richard McCallum, Desmond Breakenridge, Craig White, Oneil Thomas, Garfield Reid, Michael Stone, Vincent, Earle, Irvino English, Demar Phillips, Roberto Fletcher, Brian Wollaston.

Boy`s Town F.C.

By Stephen bell

Sunday, November 5, 2006

Boys’ Town Clash with League Leaders Harbour View

Wednesday September 8^th saw the continuation of one of the best rivalries in local football when Harbour View Football Club hosted Boys Town Football Club at the Harbour View Mini Stadium. This rivalry dating back in excess of 20 years once again proved to be a mouth-watering clash between the stars of the east and the stars of the west.  It could be argued that the best football was not on display this evening but what was clearly evident was the rivalry still existed between the teams given the level of intensity being displayed by both teams.   

When the game started HV quickly settled into their game and began to attack BT on the flanks.  It was evident that they felt that there was a weakness in the two wingbacks and that this was to their advantage.  This actually resulted in a couple of corners as well as one direct free kick for HV before the game was 10 minutes old but these were wasted opportunities.  Eventually the team from the west began to get into the flow of the game with quick short passes utilizing their quickness and deft touches.  These attacks were centered around Michael Campbell and Damion Benjamin who were beginning to dominate the middle of the game.  Ironically enough it was from an errant pass that allowed HV to counter attack and win a corner on the left side of the BT defence.  BT was guilty of poor defending on the corner, which allowed striker Kevin Bryan to get a glancing header, which proved too good, for BT custodian Kirk Porter.  This apparently served as a wake up call for BT as they then began to quicken the pace of the game with a combination of short and long passes.  This almost paid off in a quick equalizer but BT striker Peter Keyes was unable to beat the HV goalkeeper Dwayne Miller on a break away one on one chance.  This did not deter the younger BT team as they continued to press and look for the equalizer and kept the HV defence under constant pressure.  HV at the same time kept to the game plan and tried to counter attack down the flanks but were kept in check by good defending as well as poor play by the midfielders and forwards of HV.   

Eventually in the 44^th minute George Vernal Received a pinpoint pass down the centre and with calm hit a firm shot past the advancing HV goalkeeper to send the teams to half time locked at 1-1.  On the resumption once again we saw a better start by HV who almost increased the lead from a direct free kick on the left side but Donald Stewart’s powerful header just missed by inches.  But it was evident that the pace of the game was having an effect on HV and you saw BT winning almost all of the 50/50 balls. They played like they wanted the victory and similar to HV was guilty of faulty finishing in the second half.  HV was left to defend much of the second half and changed their tactic to one of trying to catch BT on the counter attack.  Unfortunately for both teams there was no one player who could take over the game with flair and imagination and the game finished in a draw.  Andrew Price coach of Boys town felt that it was a good result as he was playing away from home and against the league leaders.  He felt that if they had put away their numerous chances they would have won the game.  Lenworth Hyde coach of Harbour View felt that they did not play a good game and in fact felt that Boys’ Town played with more heart and played as if they wanted the victory.  In the end one point for each team was a good reflection of the match and left you knowing that this rivalry is alive and well and we should see another good match when both teams meet in round # 2.

Boy`s Town F.C.

By Stephen bell