Seaforth, York United take control of St Thomas Major League semi-finals

Seaforth Sports Club and York United will carry leads into the second legs of the St Thomas Major League semi-finals after victories at the Express Sports Complex on Wednesday.

Seaforth, who ended the preliminary round in fourth place, produced the day’s biggest result by defeating defending champions White Horses 4-0 in their opening semi-final meeting. Lamar Edwards was central to the win, scoring twice as Seaforth built a commanding advantage.

Edwards opened the scoring in the 18th minute before Seaforth added another in the 52nd. Ajay Campbell then extended the lead in the 80th minute after beating three defenders, and Edwards completed his double near full-time with a lobbed finish.

A Seaforth representative said the team carried out its plan well after only just reaching the top four. “Whatever we worked on, we executed well today,” he said, adding that the focus now turns to training and protecting the 4-0 lead in the second leg.

White Horses acknowledged a poor showing, saying the team had not been ready and allowed a straightforward match to become difficult.

In the other semi-final, York United reversed their two preliminary-round losses to Prospect FC with a 3-1 win at home. York controlled the early exchanges but had to wait until the 37th minute to take the lead through an own goal by Prospect’s Shan Heb. Richard Allison scored from another corner three minutes later to make it 2-0.

Prospect improved after half-time and pulled one back in the 67th minute through Jamal Campbell, but York answered in the 77th through Devon Lee Atkinson to restore a two-goal cushion.

York said they had prepared carefully despite Prospect’s earlier wins over them, while Prospect pointed to defensive lapses, a lack of compactness and two early goals as key reasons for the defeat.

Both return legs are scheduled for Sunday at the same venue.