Adrian Frater, News Editor

Seba Youths captain Omar Blake (at left with hands on trophy) lifts the Hart & Sons Trophy, symbol of Senior League football supremacy in St James, shortly after it was presented to him by Zethroy Campbell (in white shirt at right), of the Hart Group of Companies, following their 2-0 (6-0 on aggregate) win against Violet Kickers at Jarrett Park on Monday evening. Other members of the team share in the joyous moment. - photo by Adrian Frater

WESTERN BUREAU:

AS EXPECTED, the two major titles in St James' football went to the North Gully community following Monday's second-leg games in the finals of the Hart & Sons Senior League and Sandals Division One at Jarrett Park.

Gully Ambassadors, who took a 2-0 lead into their Sandal Division One fixture against Granville, suffered a 2-1 loss but took home the title 3-2 on aggregate. Seba Youths, who clobbered Violet Kickers 4-0 in the first Hart and Sons final match-up, scored a 2-0 win for a 6-0 aggregate win.

In the Hart & Sons game, the feature game of the afternoon's doubleheader, Violet Kickers turned in a creditable performance and, except for the two second-half goals they gave up to Dwayne Powell and Andrew James, looked quite composed and competitive.

Played well

"I thought we played well today and really have nothing to be ashamed of," said Violet Kickers' coach, Vinton Williams. "We are now looking forward to our participation in next year's Western Super Cup."

After a 0-0 first-half stalemate, Seba Youth took the lead in the 77th minute when a close-range shot by Powell took a deflection from a defender and sent veteran goalkeeper Warren Barrett the wrong way, making the score 1-0. Ten minutes later, James sealed the issue when he fired home from a goalmouth melee, making the final score 2-0.

"After our first leg 4-0 win it was kind of difficult to motivate the players because we knew that Kickers couldn't beat us by five goals to take the title from us," said Seba Youths captain Omar 'Crabble' Blake. "This is a proud moment for my team."

In the first game, Granville came out in full-attack mode in a bid to overturn Gully Ambassadors' 2-0 advantage and tasted early success in the fifth minute when Andrew Allen pounced and fired in a fierce shot, making the score 1-0 and cutting the deficit in the two-way tie to 2-1.

Drew level

With the first half producing no further goals and Granville looking ominous in attack, Gully Ambas-sadors drew level with a memorable strike by Leon McKnight. His free-kick from 10 yards within his own half, travelled the 65 yards to goal like a rocket, sailing over the head of goalkeeper Derval Arnold in the process, to make the score 1-1.

Buoyed by the brilliance of McKnight's goal, the momentum swung to Gully Ambassadors but they failed to make it count on the scoresheet as several scoring opportunities were wasted in rapid succession.

With three minutes to go in the game, Granville were awarded a penalty when a Gully Ambassadors defender was penalised for handling the ball. Michael Cooper made no mistake from the spot, giving Granville a 2-1 win and Gully Ambassador a 3-2 aggregate victory.