PREMIER LEAGUE strugglers August Town lifted their spirits with a 1-0 win over Reno to progress to the second round of the COK Champions Cup at the UWI Bowl yesterday.

A 43rd-minute strike by Mitchly Waul, which saw him outjump a defender, made the difference in the closely contested encounter as August Town were then able to stave off a determined Reno the rest of the way.

With both teams nervously eyeing escape from the Premier League drop zone, they will both freely admit that any win is a good one.

"It was an ugly win but it's good for the team. We need the momentum, it would be nice if it was three (CPPL) points but it's a very good win," said August Town coach Dominic Spaulding. "We need to keep winning, the backline has not been doing too badly since the other day. We have been doing some work on that so it is also good to keep a clean sheet."

"We were unfortunate here today. We dominated the game but conceded a soft goal. They basically conceded the goal out of nothing," said Reno coach Wendell Downswell. "We came out even more purposeful in the second half but just could not find that all-important equaliser."

Other games

In the day's other games, Barbican beat New Green 1-0 at Brooks Park courtesy of a 69th-minute goal by Sheldon Davey. At Baldwin Crescent, Duhaney Park got by Exodus 1-0 with Dwight Gordon netting the lone goal in the 42nd minute.

In Tuesday's opening-round games, Albany beat Grange Hill 8-7 in a penalty shoot-out, Bath beat Naggo Head 4-3 in another game that went to penalties, while Sandy Bay defeated Benefica 3-1.