Champion teams usually rise to the occasion.
Claytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame did that on Sunday night, coming from behind to beat long-standing St Michael rivals ICE Wales 2-1 in the feature Digicel Premier League football clash.
After seeing early leaders Meridian Youth Milan (21 points) stumble 1-0 to Bagatelle in the evening opening match, the Dames, who moved back into second place with 14 points, lifted their game with a solid second-half performance after trailing 1-0 at half-time.
Teenaged striker Kemar Headley gave Wales the lead after 27 minutes, hitting a perfect square back from Paul “Soup” Lovell into the far corner away from Dames’ ’keeper Kareem Farrell.
The Lavine brothers, Maradona and Donovan, both wasted opportunities to equalise for the Dames after Carl Joseph and Rudy Grosvenor cut back the ball nicely for them. Maradona also hit wide when Wales goalkeeper Bentley Springer dropped the ball but they would eventually make amends.
After a snap shot from Wales’ returning striker Dwayne “Schillaci” Stanford sailed over the crossbar, Donovan grabbed the equalizer for the Dames in the 57th minute, hitting a firm shot from the right of the penalty box through the hands of goalkeeper Bentley Springer.
Maradona then earned the Dames a penalty in the 69th minute when he was brought down by Wales’ dreadlocked sweeper Julian Mottley.
Dames’ captain John “Nobby” Parris stepped forward and unlike last Sunday against Gall Hill when he blasted another penalty high over the bars, he forgot power and placed the ball into Springer’s corner.
Wales had a couple half chances to share the spoils but Lovell was unable to keep down a header after Farrell missed a cross, while Stanford had a shot blocked by the goalkeeper.
Aaron Leacock should have increased Dames’ lead after he wasn’t flagged for off-side following an exchange with fellow substitute David Forde, but Springer saved his tame shot.
In the preceding match St John Sonnets, already with six losses, logged their second win of the season by beating Springtingbet Pinelands 1-0, courtesy an 81st-minute goal by Sheldon White.
With new national senior coach Colin “Potato” Forde watching from the stands, six-footer White kept his composure after Pinelands’ defence only partially cleared a right-side cross and drilled a low shot to the right of goalkeeper Romayne Primus.
In the first half both teams had opportunities to take the lead. Young Diego Ward failed to open Sonnets’ account when he ran onto a ball which glanced off the head of the Pinelands’ sweeper, while White forced Primus into making an acrobatic save with a fierce shot.
Striker Peter Stoute slipped through the Sonnets’ defence but before he could get off a shot, he was stripped off the ball by Alex Belgrave.
Midfielder Lionel Paul, another player with the ability to feature in Barbados’ upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign later this year, rode a couple of tackles to get free on the left side of Sonnets’ penalty area but instead of passing to an unmarked teammate, went for glory, and lashed his left-foot shot over the crossbar.
