LLANDILO, Westmoreland — Three Miles River won their first-ever Westmoreland Football Association’s Captain’s Bakery and Grill/Charley’s JB Rum Major League title after beating Roaring River 2-0 in the decider played at LLandilo field on Thursday.

Chevan Morris in the 49th minute and substitute Davane Gardner in the 88th minute scored for Three Miles River who now qualify for next season’s Western Confederation Super League for the first time ever.

The game ended on a sour note, however, as FIFA referee Valdin Ledgister was forced to issue three red cards and a yellow card in the final three minutes of regular time and a minute into the two added at the end. Additionally, a brawl involving fans saw the game being called off with about a minute remaining.

The breakdown started when Roaring River’s Captain Aaron Vassell was sent off in the 87th minute after a hard tackle just on the half line, and then Gardner, who went from hero to zero in a matter of minutes, was sent off along with Roaring River’s Fitzroy Williams in time added after he retaliated to being hit from behind with a punch.

Both players were separated and escorted off the field when a fight broke out between spectators and spilled on to the field, prompting Ledgister to call off the game.

Both presidents of the Westmoreland Football Association, Everton Tomlinson and Three Miles River’s Allan Gopaul described the ending of the game as “disrespectful”.

“It was very disrespectful to the entire Westmoreland Football, but we just have to regroup, put measures in place and eradicate these things from the game here,” Gopaul said.

Tomlinson used the opportunity to call for help for football in the parish, reigniting his call for a “proper sporting facility for the town of Sav-la-Mar”.

“From where I sit, sometimes you have to accept the fact that these things will happen and sometimes when it happens, it makes individuals and those in positions realise and accept the fact that we have a lot of challenges and a difficult challenge on our hands,” the Westmoreland Football Association president said.

He said the brawl justified his decision to take football out of the communities and to the Llandilo field, where all matches have been played the last two seasons. “We have to remove all football from all communities and it’s a decision I took as president to remove it from the communities,” Tomlinson said.

The parish’s football boss said the facilities at the FA offices were among the best in the parish. “But it is not what I would accept as the minimum standard for football. When you have a final between communities like Roaring River and Three Miles River, there is no other ground we can play that we could have more crowd control. The way it ended is very disrespectful, and distasteful and I will use it as a means of moving forward,” he went on.

The game started slowly with one real chance in the first half that Roaring River’s goalkeeper Randy Dennis handled well, tipping a long-range shot from Oryan Woodbine over the bar for a corner in the 31st minute.

Ironically it was two lapses by Dennis in a much better second half that led to both goals which cost his team the title.

Dennis failed to hold on to a shot from outside the area in the 49th minute, the ball coming back off his chest from a shot taken by Clifton Woodbine, and Morris was on it in a flash and powered it into the goal to give Three Miles River the lead.

Dennis did better in the 54th minute when he came off his line to block Davien Dove who got behind the Roaring River defence and had a clear run at goal.

Roaring River just failed to level the scores in the 59th minute when Three Miles River’s goalkeeper O’Meally Perrin was beaten about 10 yards off his line, but an alert defender was well placed to block the shot on the line, preventing it from scoring.

Three Miles River took over the game and should have doubled their lead in the 68th minute, but Odaine Dove’s free kick, which beat Dennis, came back off the cross bar.

A comical mistake in the 78th minute cost Three Miles River a second goal as yet another mistake by Dennis left the goal unprotected, but an overly eager Robert Minto, who had come in four minutes earlier, hammered the ball into the back of one of his own teammates.

Roaring River went down to 10 men in the 87th minute when Vassell was sent off, the first card of the game, and a minute later Gardener, who came on in the 83rd minute, made Roaring River pay for another mistake by their goalkeeper as he powered home yet another rebound into the open goal.

Gardener was, however, sent off along with Williams as the game got out of control and ended prematurely.