Boulevard Blazers 0 BAA 1

A strike from BAA midfield ace Willie Clemons on the hour mark was the difference maker in this tight FA Cup first-round encounter with the Boulevard Blazers at Lord’s yesterday.

Both teams immediately began applying pressure. However, neither side were able to capitalise on their offensive raids in the first half.

It was deja vu at the start of the second half as both teams continued to struggle in front of goal. With Boulevard canager Troy Smith exhorting his charges from the sideline, the Blazers were unlucky not to get on the score sheet as their few opportunities to score went begging. Undeterred, BAA stepped up their own game in response.

BAA came close with the game’s first clear-cut scoring opportunity in the 55th minute after Clemons was provided with a defence-splitting pass from Morricko Iris. Clemons’s hard run at goal necessitated a charge off his goalline by Blazers keeper Ronniko Burchall to dispossess Clemons at the last second.

BAA would be rewarded five minutes later when Drewonde Bascome laid off a deft pass for Clemons, who ran in on goal untouched to slot past Burchall.

Andrew Bascome, the BAA assistant coach, said that while his team had good movement off the ball, there were still too many times when his players did not play collectively.

“I felt that there was too much individualism with players going on at times, making the game more difficult for ourselves,” he said.

When asked what his players needed to improve on moving into the next round, Bascome said: “while this was a good win for us today, promotion this year is BAA’s main objective.

“We got a good sense of where we are today as Boulevard is a good team. They play with passion and never quit. But to continue moving forward, we need to find a way to play more collectively on a consistent basis.”