MONTEGO BAY, St James — Former champions Faulkland FC and Reggae Youths both drew first blood after beating Montego Bay Boys Club and Heights FC, respectively, in the St James Football Association/Sandals Resorts Major League semi-finals.

Faulkland beat Boys Club 2-0 while Reggae Youths edged Heights 1-0 in the first-leg encounters at Jarrett Park last Saturday.

The return legs are set to be played next Saturday at the same venue.

The winners on aggregate will advance to the final. The winner will earn a berth in the play-offs for next season’s staging of the Jamaica Football Championship.

On Saturday former Faulkland player Joel Powell gifted them the opener when he conceded an own goal in the 66th minute. Kyle Anderson added a second in the 78th minute to give Faulkland a handy advantage going into the return clash.

Faulkland, who had played in the Jamaica Premier League in the 2022-23 season after spending just one season each in the St James FA Major League and the then JFF Tier II in the 2021-22 season, returned to parish football after a layoff and picked up where they left off.

The Gregory Palmer-coached team topped Zone A with 31 points, well ahead of runners-up Reggae Youths who were last season’s beaten finalists, tallying 24 points.

In the first game of the double-header, Tyrique Scott’s 54th minute effort made the difference for Reggae Youths against Heights FC.

Goal difference separated the top teams in Zone B, three of them finishing on 19 points.

Heights, who have promised much in the past but usually fall just short, came out on top. They were ahead of Boys Club who overtook Lilliput Rovers after beating them in the final game of the regular season.

— Paul A Reid