SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine — Black Lion became the first semi-finalist in the LIME/St Catherine Major League despite suffering their second-straight defeat in a 1-2 loss to Wanderers at the weekend.

Damarly Dawkins gave Black Lion a 1-0 lead after 34 minutes, but the former Premier League team could not hold on as Delroy Small (84th and 89th) netted twice in five minutes to steal all three points for the home team.

The result leaves Black Lion (38) six points clear atop the standings, which is good enough to see them through to the last-four as only three other teams can surpass them with three games remaining in the round.

Meanwhile, mid-season champions Portsmouth and Royal Lakes improved their chances of advancing to the semis after scoring contrasting away victories.

Second-placed Portsmouth rallied for a last-gasp 2-1 win against fellow Portmore-based team Dunbeholden, while Royal Lakes thrashed last-placed Cumberland, 4-1.

Portsmouth improved to 32 points — two ahead of Royal Lakes and four more than Spanish Town Police, who lost 1-2 to lowly DB Basovak.

In the other game, Rodwood (26) missed the chance to boost their semi-final hopes following a 1-1 stalemate with Albion.