Western Bureau:
Exidus FC took a two-goal advantage against Duanvale FC in the 2009 Trelawny Football Association (TFA) National Rums of Jamaica Major League semi-final when they came away 2-0 winners in Sunday's first leg game, at the Duanvale Community Centre.
In a game in which Duanvale started favourites, Exidus quickly silenced the home crowd with their robust play and scored a goal in each half through Sheldon Bryan and the prolific Zeko Clarke to snatch victory.
In the second semi-final between Harmony FC and Holland at the Sir Linval Crawford Oval in Bounty Hall, the teams battled to a 0-0 draw in a contest in which both teams lost a player via the red-card route for fighting. The players ejected were Harmony's Oshane Stewart and Holland's Colin James.
Early action
In their win against Duanvale, Exidus dominated the early action and were in front in the eighth minute when Bryan found himself with space deep in his opponent's defence and stroked the ball past the goalkeeper, making the half-time score 1-0.
Duanvale made a gallant attempt to get back into the game early in the second half but were kept at bay by resolute defending by the Exidus back line. Exidus stung Duanvale for a second time in the 70th minute when Clarke, who has been having an excellent season, fired home from close range, making the score 2-0.
In their game against Holland, the fancied Harmony FC, who was expected to sparkle, struggled against their lesser fancied opponents. In the end, they must have seen the 0-0 stalemate as good result.
In the return games slated for tomorrow, Holland and Harmony will be seeking to break their 0-0 stalemate at the William Knibb High School grounds, while Exidus, who will now have home advantage, should start favourites against Duanvale at Bunkers Hill. Both games are slated to kick off at 3 p.m.
The team that ultimately wins the title will not only take home the coveted National Rums of Jamaica trophy and the $150,000 winners purse but will also gain qualification to next season's Captain's Bakery Western Super League.