CHURCH Pen deservedly won the LIME/St Catherine Central Division II KO title with an exciting 3-1 win over Village Lynx at Prison Oval on Saturday.

Lennox Kennedy turned in Dewight Wilson’s left-sided cross on 36 minutes to give Church Pen the lead heading into the break.

Wilson doubled the lead with an audacious strike in the 63rd minute, but Marlon Walker cut the deficit for Lynx a minute later with a fine solo effort.

Church Pen’s two-goal cushion was restored swiftly, however, when skipper Erron Downer hit the target with an exquisite dipping curler.

Lynx became a frustrating bunch, and they should have had Kemar Little ejected when the defender deliberately stamped the head of Mark Simmonds, who was on the ground after both players challenged for the ball.

Fortunately for Little, referee Kasa Plummer and his first assistant Oyinco McTaggart, who was close to the incident, missed the infringement.

Bill Martin, coach of Church Pen, said their strategy was well executed.

“We played them last week and the game ended nil-all. We realised then that they love to run with the ball so we decided to play with five in midfield and one forward. We gained control of the midfield and controlled the game that way. We should have scored more goals, but I am happy with the result still,” a beaming Martin said in his post game interview.

Wilson was a thorn in the Lynx defence, as his angled shot came off the foot of the upright, before drawing a fine save from goalkeeper Lance Levy when clean through.

After sustained pressure, Church Pen eventually broke the deadlock when Wilson held off two defenders before delivering a fine cross for Kennedy to tap in from two yards.

Lynx missed a glorious chance to draw level on the stroke of half-time when Kaveen Stephenson shot mysteriously over from six yards after a beautifully choreographed give-and-go with Lloyd Brown sliced open Church Pen’s backline.

The game opened up a bit more on the restart with three goals being scored within four minutes.

With 63 minutes on the clock, Wilson collected Travis Bogle’s cross atop the 18-yard box, lobbed the advancing Levy before heading the ball into an unguarded goal.

Lynx’s response was immediate when Walker swirled his way by two defenders on the byline before firing past Church Pen’s goalie Oliver James at his near post.

But Martin’s side restored their two-goal cushion in a flash, when Downer collected a pass inside the penalty arc and curled a beauty in the far corner past Levy’s despairing dive.