BROOKLYN, New York (CMC) — Defending champions Jamaica set the stage for an unprecedented seventh New York Football Cup title by beating Barbados 2-1 in a very robust, ill-tempered semi-final here on Sunday.

Playing before a boisterous, record crowd at the Jefferson High School Stadium, the holders of the 19-year-old Cup for a record five successive seasons, got first-half goals from Marco Hamilton and Jermaine Hue to wrap up victory.

In Sunday’s final at the same venue, the Jamaicans will now face St Lucia who edged St Kitts and Nevis 1-0.

Though the Jamaicans outplayed the Barbadians in the first half to lead 2-0, the eastern Caribbean outfit displayed sheer aggression and rebounded.

They hit back in the 56th minute when Richard Lavine capitalised on a left-sided pass to elude Jamaican goalkeeper Jerry Walters.

A minute later, Barbados thought they had pulled level when Carl Joseph beat Walters to his left only for the referee to disallow the goal.

Play was then held up for five minutes as Barbadian officials and players sought to quell the outrage of their fans who hurled bottles on the pitch in protest.

When the game finally resumed, the Barbadians fought hard for the equaliser, but to no avail.

Jamaica had taken an early lead three minutes into the contest when Hamilton stunned Barbadian goalkeeper Andre Wilkinson with a low blast from outside the penalty box.

Hue then doubled Jamaica’s lead when he sent Wilkinson the wrong way in the 29th minute from the penalty spot.

“I’m very disappointed with the outcome,” Barbados head coach Alvin Brathwaite, told CMC Sport in a post-match interview.

His Jamaican counterpart, Arthur ‘Jetty’ Mikes, on the other hand, acknowledged the Barbadians’ “gallant fight” but stated that his team had the clear edge.

“We let them back into the game after giving up that goal. Nonetheless, we withstood their pressure, kept possession of the ball, and won the game,” Mikes said.

“We’re going for the sixth straight trophy (and) we’re not going to enter the final and give it up like that,” he added.

Meanwhile, St Lucia, whose lone goal came from the boots of their leading goalscorer Philip Tisson 20 minutes into the second half to eliminate St Kitts, promised to dethrone the Jamaica.

“Definitely, we will win the cup. We have no alternative but to win it,” said head coach Tyron Clovis.

The St Lucians drew 1-1 with Jamaica in the preliminary round.

In their only meeting in a final, Jamaica crushed St Lucia 5-0 in the 2003 title game.