ST JAMES, Jamaica — Faulkland Football Club (FC) and Reggae Youths confirmed their places in Saturday’s final of the St James Football Association/Sandals Major League after Monday’s return leg semi-finals at Jarrett Park.

Radcliff Dawkins came off the bench to hammer the nail in Montego Bay Boys Club’s coffin as Faulkland FC won 4-1 for a 6-1 aggregate before Reggae Youths edged Heights FC 5-4 on aggregate after their entertaining 4-4 draw.

In addition to winning the title, Saturday’s winners will also qualify for the Jamaica Football Championships (JFC) qualifiers that are set to start in the first week of June.

Gregory Palmer, the head coach of Faulkland FC, who  has his eyes set of returning to the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), says getting to the Championships next season is the first step in that direction.

Gregory Palmer, head coach of Faulkland FC (Photo: Paul Reid)

St James has not had a team in the Championships for four seasons and Palmer said they aim to remedy that situation.

“We are here to fill that gap by getting a team back in the Championships,” he told the Observer Online on Monday.

Faulkland FC were the last team from the parish to play in the island’s second tier competition.

“If it was up to me, we would have more than one St James team playing at that level, so this our aim, not just to play in the final, but to get to the (Championships) and then try to make it to the Premier League,” he said.

Loren Salesman, head coach of Reggae Youths (Photo: Paul Reid)

Palmer said the result of the game on Monday was expected given their superiority in all areas of the game.

“Based on the firepower we possess, we will always be able to score goals, because goals win games and defending win championships,” he stated.

“We have had seven goals scored against us, so basically you just have to get the defenders to do what they have to do, and then get the attacking third to do what they have to do.”

Reggae Youths are in back-to- back finals after losing to Flankers FC last season, and coach Loren Salesman told the Observer Online they were made to work hard for the win.

“We were always on the back foot and we had plans to keep a ‘clean sheet’ but we made too many mistakes,” he admitted. “But we knew we were better than them in terms of scoring goals so I was not too worried about that part, all we wanted to do was to make sure we did not got too far behind.”

Salesman, who had led the team to back- to-back titles some years ago, said bluntly the aim is to lift the trophy again.

“We want to win the final so we are going back to the drawing board now and get some serious training in so we can do our best,” he stated.

Trailing 0-1 after the first leg played a week earlier, Heights FC surprised Reggae Youths with two quick goals mid-way the first half. Sebastian Robinson steered a corner past his own goalkeeper in the 22nd minute and Tevin Haughton doubled the score in 24th minute, scoring from a foot out, thanks to quick thinking from former Reggae Boy Allan Ottey.

The ball appeared to be going into touch but Ottey reacted before everyone else, got to the ball before goalkeeper JKwon Kenton, and squared it across the goal mouth for his teammate to tap in his first of two goals on the day.

Reggae Youths drew level on aggregate when Anthony Gooden scored in the 28th minute and then went ahead in time added at the end of the first half when Natoneil Wilson headed a cross into the goal from about two yards out.

Wilson then scored his second on the day and his team’s third when he scored in the 50th for Reggae Youths to lead 3-2 in the game and 4-2 on aggregate.

Ottey pulled one back for Heights when he scored in the 59th minute; Tyrique Scott then responded for Reggae Youths to go 4-3 on the day before Haughton scored a consolation in time added to earn a face saving draw.

Faulkland FC, who led 2-0 after the first leg, dominated the first game, Tyshan Hill opened the scoring in the 36th minute before Matthew Thorpe equalised from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute.

Faulkland FC stepped up the pace in the second half scoring three times in a five-minute span to kill off the competition.

Jalani Nicholson made the score 2-1 in the 76th minute and Dawkins, who was introduced in the 78th minute, scored just after a minute of going on to the field, then added a second two minutes later.