Adonis hat-trick fires Brickdam past Central High … BHS blanks Skeldon

DESPITE missing numerous goal-scoring opportunities, especially in the second half, Brickdam Secondary still managed to come away with an 8-0 victory over a game Central High School, in their fourth Digicel Inter-Secondary School Football Championship matchup at the Ministry of Education ground yesterday. This was mainly through a hat-trick of goals from diminutive striker Malachi Adonis, while his teammate Andrew Adams missed seven chances in the second half to further underline his team’s superiority over their opponents, in soggy conditions. At the Skeldon Community Centre ground, Berbice High School (BHS) gave the home team marching orders out of the tournament with their 3-0 win, thanks to a brace from Mustapha Dolson, while at the Georgetown Football Club (GFC) ground, Bishops’ High defeated St Joseph 4-1. The contest at Carifesta Avenue saw Brickdam go after their opponents from the opening whistle with the Atlantic Ocean wind strong on their backs, winning a free kick as early as the 4th minute, which Adams, who was brought down just outside the box, shot wide of the uprights. A well-directed corner kick from Orville Parris in the 13th minute was converted by Dominic Barker before Adonis got the first of his three goals seven minutes later, scoring off a botched goal kick that was taken by Central custodian Osama McAlmont. At the other end of the field, Brickdam custodian Darren Marks affected a save off a shot taken by Central’s Tyriq Jacobs, who had flown the off-side trap and given himself a one-on-one chance with Marks, who stood tall and came out the victor in the challenge. Five minutes later another shot from Jacobs went wide of the uprights, after he sent the ball over the head of an advancing Marks, as the vulnerability in Brickdam’s four-man defence was exposed, but not taken advantage of by Central, who lacked firing power at the top. From another loose ball, Adonis, who sent several passes to Adams that were botched by the striker on every occasion, made it 3-0 for Brickdam in the 36th minute when he beat the opposing custodian from the top of the box, following a gem of a pass from Malachi Richards. The eventual victors thwarted their opponents, for whom Emmanuel William was working overtime in all positions, with the aim of reducing Brickdam’s lead and when the whistle sounded to signal the end of the first half, Brickdam held a 3-0 advantage. On the resumption of play, Central had the chance to make it a two-goal possession, but selfish play from Daniel Thomas who bullied Jacobs off the ball when presented with a two-on-one situation with only Marks to beat, saw Thomas’ shot go high over the bar. They were made to pay for that blunder, as Denilson Rose scored with a well-placed shot from the top right hand of the box in the 47th minute for a 4-0 lead, following which Adonis missed the chance to register his hat-trick when he sent his shot high over the bar. An own goal scored off an Adams corner kick in the 57th minute made it 5-0 in favour of Brickdam who had much to celebrate shortly after when Adonis completed his hat-trick in the 75th minute. A handled ball in the area by Malique Browne saw the referee point to the spot, with Marks stepping up and nailing home the penalty kick in the 79th minute, following which the final whistle sounded handing Brickdam a lopsided victory. At Skeldon, Dolson found the back of the net in the 52nd and 60th minutes and got support from Kevin Sandy, whose solitary strike was placed on the scorer’s sheet in the 68th minute, as BHS sent Skeldon back to the drawing board to prepare for next year’s tournament. At GFC, Nathaniel Singh had a hat-trick in the 6th, 8th and 15th minutes of play and which was complemented by Shaquille Moseley’s 20th minute goal that guided Bishops’ High to their 4-1 over St Joseph, whose lone goal came off the boot of Dwight Ferguson in the 63rd minute. The action is set to continue today with several matches from 15:30hrs, including a semifinal fixture in Region 10 between two-times defending champions Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School and New Silvercity Secondary at the Wisburg Community Centre ground. (By Calvin Roberts)