Sporting Central Academy's captain, Jevaughn Watson, is escorted from the field after suffering an injury during the second half of the Digicel Premier League game against Reno FC at the Frome Sports Ground yesterday. The teams tied 1-1. - Photo by Claudia Gardner

WESTERN BUREAU:

A defender's goal minutes from full time resulted in Sporting Central Academy drawing 1-1 with Reno Football Club in their Digicel Premier League match-up at the Frome Sports Club in Westmoreland.

The Christopher Dawes-coached Sporting Central went ahead in the 15th minute, courtesy of centre forward Ian Palmer and managed to hold off a multitude of attacks launched by Reno while fighting hard to increase the score, until a tussle in the six-yard box ended with the Reno equaliser, as a defender's error by Keithy Simpson resulted in an own goal in the 76th minute.

Yellow cards

Three Reno players were slapped with yellow cards in the game - Nicholi Findlayson, Omar Dallas and Byron Davis.

Dawes told The Gleaner in an interview following the game that while he was somewhat disappointed that his team had only managed a draw, he was happy they had not lost.

"It (the goal conceded) was an individual mistake. I wouldn't want to blame the players. Reno came out well and they got back a goal. It is a draw away from home, but we were expecting a win because we have not had a win in the last five games," Dawes said.

Reno's coach, Wendell Downswell, also expressed mixed feelings about the outcome.

"We had expected a victory and so I am disappointed that we drew. However, it is a good thing that we haven't lost a game at home. We are one of the only unbeaten teams in the competition at home this far, so we have kept that intact."

Pretty disappointed

He added: "We are pretty disappointed that we did not get the three points because we were hoping to do so, that is part and parcel of it. The competition will take a break now, so during this period we will intensify our preparation going into the other games.

"I would attribute the first goal to a lapse in concentration, especially in the first half where we were quite dominant and gave up a very soft goal," Downswell assessed. "As a result of that, we had to fight back gallantly to get the equaliser and it took a lot out of us. Probably if we had gone into the second half with the score at 0-0, then we could have come out and tried to get that all-important one goal. But the catching up was for 45 minutes. We got the chances, but perhaps if we had played a little more clinical and with more combinations around the 18-yard box, I think we would have gotten that all-important goal. We are happy then that we haven't lost."