Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

BOTTLES RAINED down at Jarrett Park yesterday when irate fans reacted angrily as St George's College wrecked St James High School's bid to become triple champions, beating them 2-0 to win the 2008 Olivier Shield 3-2 on aggregate.

Kemal Malcolm, who scored St George's lone goal when they lost the first leg game 2-1 at Constant Spring last Wednesday, was the hero for the Neville 'Bertis' Bell-coached team yesterday, scoring two well-taken goals in the eighth and 12th minutes.

"The game plan was to hit them (St James) early, and we did with those two goals," said coach Bell, who has now added the Olivier Shield to his coaching résumé. "St James played quite well, especially in the second half, but the size of the field suited our style and we made it count."

Disappointing experience

For St James High, who dominated the latter stages of the second half, but missed numerous chances, it was a most disappointing experience, especially for the fans who took issue with the officiating and disrupted the game twice as they hurled bottles at the assistant referee posted near to the Montego Bay Cricket Club end.

"We are disappointed about today's result but we are thankful for what has been a wonderful season for us," said Pastor Hugh Solomon, the coach of the St James High team. "We started out shakily and gave up two early goals but we showed a lot of character and, in the end, did get enough chances to win the game."

With St James looking tired and lethargic, St George's had the better of the early exchanges and it came as no surprise when they took the lead in the eighth minute.

Following an attack on the left flank, the ball flowed into the path of Malcolm and he turned sweetly and fired home.

St George's struck again in the 12th minute when the St James defence buckled under pressure, allowing Malcolm a clear shot on goal, which he converted easily, firing out of the reach of goalkeeper Everett Nunes.

Wasted chances

Towards the end of the half, St James gradually began to come into their own but wasted glorious chances in the 28th and 37th minutes.

First, Allan Ottey and his strike partner, Nicholi Barrett, fumbled a ball that fell between them. Then Ricardo Morris kicked tamely at the goalkeeper from the edge of the penalty area.

St James started the second half all out in attack, putting relentless pressure on the St George's defence.

However, they fell prey to some sharp tackles, which some fans felt should have been penalised, hence the first bottle-throwing incident.

With St George's defending resolutely under non-stop pressure from St James, the Montego Bay team should have scored in the 77th minute when Morris cracked a savage close-range shot, which struck the crossbar and sailed into the crowd behind the goal.

With the game in stoppage time and the St George's defenders frustrating St James' all-out attack, fans again began hurling missiles on to the field, forcing the officials and players to take cover. The final whistle came during the confusion.