Boys' Town's Peter Keyes has every reason to be happy, after a fruitful three-goal return in their Digicel Premier League match against Reno at Frome on Sunday. Keyes scored a hat-trick in their 5-0 win. - photo by Claudia Gardner

WESTERN BUREAU:

Boys' Town were on fire in Westmoreland on Sunday, when they hammered Reno FC 5-0 in their Digicel Premier Football League matchup at the Frome Sports Ground.

Three of the Red Brigade's goals came from the boots of Peter Keyes, with Garfield Gillespie and Renae Lloyd scoring one apiece.

"If you score five goals you must be satisfied, so it is good for us as we maintain our place with the leaders," Andrew Price, Boys' Town's technical director, told The Gleaner of his team, which moved to 43 points, seven adrift joint leaders Harbour View and Portmore United.

"Three points away from home is always a bonus," he added.

Reno got the better of a lacklustre-looking Boys' Town in the first 20 minutes of the first half of play, but the Collie Smith Drive-based team came alive after Keyes hammered his first goal from 25 yards out to put them in the lead in the 36th minute.

Gillespie was on target in the 42nd minute after he capitalised on a shot initially taken by his teammate, Oneil McDonald, which had been parried by Reno's goalkeeper Kevin Williams.

Three goals ahead

The hard-running Lloyd, who came on as a substitute shortly after the start of the second half, put Boys' Town three goals ahead in the 65th minute when he latched onto a pass by Michael Campbell, beat three Reno defenders and hammered past the Reno goalkeeper.

Seven minutes later, Boys' Town had a goal recalled as Keyes was ruled offside. But there could be no question whether the goal he scored shortly after in the 81st minute after dribbling into the penalty area was legitimate, or the penalty he converted in the 87th.

Price noted that the long journey from Kingston had affected his team's performance in the first 30 minutes of the game.

"It's (journey) one of the reasons we did not start as intense as we wanted to do, but as the game progressed we got into our stride," Price said.

"We moved the ball around and began putting gaps behind the Reno defence. In the second half I told my team to take Reno completely out of the game by moving the ball around and got three goals as a result," Price added.

Heavy defeat

Reno's technical director, Wendell Downswell, told The Gleaner that his team's heavy defeat was due to poor finishing, even though "technically the ball possession was good".

"We lost so heavily after doing so well in the first 30 minutes. We had at least four opportunities and we failed to convert. The difference is that Boys' Town created chances and scored. We created seven throughout the game and failed to convert," said Downswell, whose team remained at the bottom of the 12-team standings on 19 points.