Disputed goal hurts August Town
published:
Monday | November 26, 2007
Richard Bryan, Freelance Writer
Reno claimed their second win of the Cash Plus Premier League season in a cloud of controversy against August Town yesterday at their lucky home ground, St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS).
The win lifted Reno to 10 points, while August Town remained on eight.
Stuck near the cellar since the start of the season, Reno earned three valuable points and a 1-0 victory when Recardo Scott's shot from the edge of the six-yard area in the 71st minute appeared to have foxed the referee Devon Thomas and his assistant Brown into believing that the ball found its way in the back of the net via the legitimate route - between the posts.
Celebration
Scott, who had hit the left upright in the first half, showed no immediate celebration after hitting the torrid shot following two good touches from a floated ball from left side playmaker, Kendrie Quarrie.
The disputed goal, which provided hot discussion following the game, had come five minutes after Reno had lost a player via the red card route.
The August Town players, lead by goalkeeper Devon Haughton, protested vehemently and most of them appeared to have walked off the field after the referee held his ground. The game was being televised and the August Town camp became even more incensed when it was circulated that replays had backed their claim that the ball had slipped instead under the side netting. The game was held up for 10 minutes before the August Town players decided to enter the field of play, but scarcely five minutes had past before their coach, Calvert Fitzgerald, became a casualty.
An understandably peeved Fitzgerald kept up an open verbal assault on referee Haughton and was ordered out of the ground. Players were heard to be shouting expletives and it was not a surprise when not a single second was added to regulation 90 minutes.
Asthma attack
Meanwhile, the Reno camp was cursing their luck as Fabian Blake had a late shot on goal that hit the cross bar before dipping back into play. They were also concerned otherwise as the game's adjudged goalscorer, Scott, had to be substituted late in the game due to an asthma attack on the field and was rushed into a vehicle to seek medical attention.
David Lalor, assistant coach of the August Town team, who was one of the calming influence on the August Town bench, said the incident was unfortunate and merely added to a bad afternoon that had started before the game.
"To begin with, the players never came in with the right frame of mind an we were a little scrappy earlier on, we were coming into our own when the unfortunate incident happened.
I believe it happened because the referee was a little arrogant. It was clear there was a hole in the net and even when told he never did anything about it."
