DIAMOND continue to show encouraging improvement when they held the highly-touted Agricola Red Triangle to a 1-1 draw when play in the Stag Beer-sponsored East Bank Football Association (EBFA) division-one league continued last Sunday at the Grove Playfield.Sunday’s other encounter saw Soesdyke Falcons stave off a spirited performance from Mocha Champs to emerge 3-2 winners.
Diamond took the surprise lead against Agricola, who came into the game with three wins on the run and were relishing a fourth win, but that was not to be as the determined Diamond unit presented a stout challenge.
They cantered into the lead with the game a mere three minutes old, compliments of a Leonardo Canton strike, immediately sending shockwaves through the Agricola team. Despite taking the lead, Diamond did not get complacent even as Agricola went on the offensive.
The game evened out in the 33rd minute when Agricola, through the effort of Winston Rawlins, were able to finally hit the network to draw level. The exchanges continued back and forth with both teams going after the go-ahead goal but that did not happen.
Both teams walked away with one point, Agricola moved to 10 and remain in second place behind leaders Timehri Panthers while Diamond moved to four points in sixth place.
The Soesdyke Falcons/Mocha Champs matchup turned out to be a humdinger of a clash, as the Soesdyke-based side held their nerves to walk away with the points.
Kelcey Benson handed Soesdyke the early lead with the game just two minutes old. That advantage was doubled seven minutes later when Colin McLean netted the first of his double in the 9th minute.
Running away to a 2-0 advantage did not mean comfort for Soesdyke as Mocha, still without a point in the league, kept up the attack against their opponents. In a heart-pumping two-minute burst, Mocha brought themselves right back into the game and were threatening to take full points.
Travis Anthony narrowed the gap in the 37th minute while Wendell Joseph neutralised proceedings for Mocha with a goal of his own two minutes later
With the scores now level 2-2, the halftime whistle sounded much to the delight of both sides as the fans held their breath, anticipating a fierce battle in the second half.
Like in the first half, Soesdyke scored early. McLean completed his double three minutes after the break when he blasted his shot into the back of the net in the 48th minute. End-to-end action continued but Soesdyke held on to their lead and maximum points, to overtake Kuru Kururu Warriors for fourth place to date.
Another mouthwatering double-header is set for this Sunday at the same venue when Herstelling come up against Kuru Kururu Warriors in opening play from 13:00hrs with the main attraction bringing together home team Grove Hi Tech and leaders Timehri Panthers.