Audley Boyd, Asst. Sport Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

If you needed comic relief, the return-leg match yesterday afternoon between Belmont and Newmarket at Llandilo playfield in Savanna-la-Mar provided the perfect stage.

It was no joke competition as the teams were battling for a place in the next phase of the Westmoreland Football Association's (WFA) Paul Buchanan KO.

But the way they went about contriving a most unlikely 0-0 draw served up a bellyful of laughter for the small crowd witnessing the dramatic affair.

One player for instance, Newmarket sub Andrew Kelly, was continuously trying to head the ball to maintain an attacking sequence and every time he tried, the ball landed on top of his head and rebounded in the direction from which it came, inadvertently launching a counter-attack against his own team, sending the crowd into a fit of laughter.

The field was damp owing to a persistent drizzle but not even that could account for the other technical flaws that caused them to give away possession easily while resulting in a comedy of errors - mostly for the Newmarket homesters hoping for an impossible recovery after losing the first-leg tie 5-0.

Laughing stock

Belmont, through their play in the first half, showed why they won so easily the first time, but their inability to expand it made them a laughing stock.

They missed several goals including some hilarious one-on-one runs which even saw first-leg four-goal hero Andre Bromfield dribble by goalkeeper Garfield Gayle, only to be bumped off the ball by teammate Damion Brissett who appeared from nowhere trying to cheat a cheap goal only to be ruled offside.

Brissett also shot one-on-one chances across goal, which in the scheme of things with easy missed chances was ludicrous. Even funnier was a breakaway by Brenton Tate who seemed to have forgotten that you can't score without the ball and ran left it, more through his own clumsiness.

Their task got harder in the second half as Newmarket came out throwing more punches, enabling themselves to hit some good tries on goal that were blocked. At least it ensured a more competitive contest that evened out at the end with Newmarket team leader Donovan Brown toe-punching an 89th minute penalty over the top; followed seconds later by Devon Dennis, who dribbled the length of the pitch and gently passed the ball to the opposing 'keeper Gayle.

"We a go bun out dem two team ya man," remarked a spectator. "Dem a joke."

Belmont's coach Marcus Perry was less certain, at least of his team's finishing.

"I just don't know what happened to the finishing," he offered. The finishing touch was lacking.

"Maybe the players just got complacent because they won the first-leg 5-0."

Newmarket's Brown wasn't expecting any miracles.

"Based on the players who we have we never expected anything different. I think we performed poorly last week."

Another team which performed badly the previous week, Central Community, did the same in yesterday's return match and were beaten 3-1 by Chantilly to accumulate a 6-1 aggregate. One more match was played, a first-leg clash that Paul Island won 5-0 over Bluefields with a four-timer from Shane Vanhorne and a fifth goal by Ricton Morris.

The Newmarket-Belmont first tie produced a similar result and one four-goal hero. The stage might well be set for more comic relief at Bluefields tomorrow.