IF AKADEMIKS WERE looking for a quick fix, they certainly found it.
New acquisitions Mario Harte and Arantees Lawrence scored in their first appearances to lead 10-man Akademiks to a 2-0 victory over LG Strike Force on the opening night of the LIME Pelican Football Challenge at Kensington Oval on Sunday.
Playing in the nightcap, Harte, the No. 1 pick in the draft, showed exactly why he was chosen by the Pine-based side, first turning provider for Lawrence before blasting a stunning free kick to ensure that his side grabbed the maximum points.
Bajan Pride, the defending champions, also opened their account by defeating first timers Bajan Elite 1-0, while in the opening game Combined All Stars and TS Strikers battled to a 1-1 draw.
Having struggled to score goals in last year’s competition, it would have been a welcome performance for the Akademiks fans in the 1 500-strong crowd.
Despite a powerful strike by Lawrence in the opening minutes which forced LG Strike Force’s custodian Kareem Farrell to make a fine save, it was LG Strike Force who dominated proceedings for most of the contest.
And when Carl Joseph burst into the penalty box with only keeper Romayne Primus to beat, a goal seemed on the cards, but his poor effort crashed into the side netting.
Soon after, they were on the attack again when Kadeem Latham beat the offside trap and found himself in plenty of space with only Primus in his way.
But instead of shooting, the speedy winger opted to pass to Joseph, who could only hold his head in despair as the ball passed agonizingly close, but just outside of his outstretched foot.
With Farrell sustaining a finger injury, reserve goalkeeper Adrian Chase was forced to take his place, and was forced to make two crucial saves – the first to deny Lawrence from running onto a long ball, and the other to deny Harte’s stinging volley.
After the break, LG Strike Force continued to dominate proceedings before Akademiks scored against the run of play.
With the game seemingly headed for a goalless draw, Harte collected a ball on the right flank, outpaced his marker and delivered a pinpoint cross into the box.
Although well marked, Lawrence was still able to parry the ball into the net with his body to put his side ahead in the 60th minute.
Akademiks were down to ten men soon after though, when Jermaine Caesar was shown his second yellow card of the night.
But Harte ensured there would be no comeback, drilling a 20-yard free kick past a hapless Primus in the 88th minute much to the delight of the spectators.
In the preceding game, Bajan Pride benefited from a mistake by national goalkeeper Jason Boxhill which led to their winning goal.
With the scores locked at 0-0 at half-time, and Bajan Elite reduced to ten men after Carlo Perry was shown a red card for a dangerous two-footed challenge, Julian Mottley headed into an open goal in the 58th minute from a corner, after Boxhill misjudged his attempted catch.
Bajan Pride’s veteran keeper Morrison Taylor put on an Most Valuable Player performance to ensure that his side won by the smallest of margins.
First, he produced a brilliant save to deny Bajan Elite’s busy striker Kemar Headley, before tipping over a header, which seemed destined for goal, from Chai Lloyd.
In the night’s first match, Tristan “Fishy” Parris had set Combined All Stars on their way to victory with a 73rd-minute strike, before Armando Lashley scored five minutes from time to give TS Strikers a share of the points.
