By Nodley Wright, Staff ReporterAXUM AND Seba maintained their leads in Zone A and B respectively as the A League continued with six matches yesterday.
A 1-0 win for Axum over Israel preserved their four-point advantage over the star-studded Rivoli. The win increased Axum's tally to 16 points while Rivoli, who edged Central Link 1-0 in the St Catherine derby, progressed to 12 points.
Seba United drew 1-1 with Maverley and inched their way to 17 points, four more than the idle Mount Salem, Central Link, who were beaten, and Bull Bay who stopped Brazil 2-1. In other matches, Frome stopped the hapless Black Stars 2-0 while Olympic Gardens and Rockfort played to a 1-1 draw.
The big clash of the day, the St Catherine derby between Rivoli and Central Link never lived up to expectations. In this game, players from both teams were more interested in "proving" themselves than playing constructive team football.
It took a 13th minute goal from some times national representative Ray Graham to clinch the three points for his expensively-assembled team. Despite the focus on style as opposed to substance by most players, there were occasional displays of quality by little Nigerian import Mobi Oparako and Barrington Planter for Central Link.
Rivoli had the better chances to score with Shawn Simpson, who seemed more concerned about his appearance, missing a number of chances. The hyperactive Rivoli captain Patrick Beech could have had a strike or two but missed.
Central Link did create some chances of their own and while Rivoli goalkeeper Vincent Blake was in erratic form, the Central Link forwards backed off whenever they were challenged by the imposing Mark Wisdom.
