Frasziers Whip, Cavalier off to flier in Women’s PL
FRASZIERS Whip and Cavalier established themselves as title contenders as they both opened their Jamaica Women’s Premier League (JWPL) accounts with tidy victories over Olympic Gardens and Royal Lakes, respectively, in their respective zone games at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence yesterday.
Frasziers Whip first edged Olympic Gardens 3-2 in their Zone A clash while Cavalier hammered Royal Lakes 9-0 in the Zone B encounter that served as the feature contest of a double-header.
National representative Shaneil Buckley led Frasziers Whip with a brace in the 30th and 40th minutes, with Destiny Powell (75th) getting the other. Stephanie Morgan (27th) and Ashlee Sawyers (90th) were the scorers for Olympic Gardens.
Meanwhile, former Reggae Girl Rena Gordon (30th and 48th) and substitute Sashana Watson (52nd and 90th) both had braces for Cavalier in the lopsided encounter. Ramona Wallace (4th), Liha Williams (21st), Ashanti Lewis (54th), Cardelia Nesbeth (70th) and Junell Graham (77th) also got on the scoresheet.
Frazsiers Whip dominated proceedings in the early contest and created numerous chances that they failed to convert. They were even awarded what was deemed a controversial penalty which was skied by Buckley.
That allowed Olympic Gardens to grow in confidence, and they had their first chance through a solo effort by former national representative Monique Pryce whose left-footed drive was kept out by custodian Schenell Goodhall at her near post.
Olympic Gardens took the lead against the run of play when Morgan converted from the penalty spot after a Frazsiers Whip defender handled the ball inside the danger area.
However, Buckley made amends and pulled Frazsiers Whip level when she outsped a defender and slipped by the advancing Tashwell Welcome to slot into an empty net.
And before long, the Xavier Gilbert-coached Frazsiers Whip pushed ahead as Buckley waltzed her way past a defender to fire home from close range to make it 2-1 at the break.
The St Catherine team maintained their momentum on the resumption and, after a few mishits, they eventually extended their lead when Powell converted a well-taken free kick.
But Sawyers gave Olympic hopes of a comeback when she fired home a right-footer from a distance.
In the feature contest Cavalier, as expected, started best and quickly broke the deadlock when Lewis’s weighted cross was turned in by Wallace at the far post.
The lead was doubled by Williams, who slotted home from close range.
Cavalier could have pushed even further ahead when Rena Gordon was felled inside the red zone, but Wallace’s tame kick went straight in the grasp of Chelsea Williams in goal for Royal Lakes.
On the half-hour mark Gordon spared that blush when she picked up a pass from Lewis and finished beyond the reach of Williams to give Cavalier a comfortable 3-0 cushion at the break.
Cavalier again came out lively on the resumption and Gordon tucked home two minutes in, before Watson added another from a counter with another finish from close range.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Lewis made it six when she tapped in Kersha Thomas’s pass across face of goal.
They continued to camp out in Royal Lakes’s quarters and with the St Catherine-based outfit offering very little resistance, Nesbeth helped herself to a tidy finish.
Graham then got in on the action when she went on the break and converted beyond the hapless Williams.
And Watson later finished a right-footer with aplomb to cap the win.