Premier Division newcomers St George’s Colts produced a big upset after upstaging league champions Dandy Town at Wellington Oval yesterday.

A Mackie Crane strike deep in stoppage time earned the east-enders the lion’s share of the spoils and ensured a triumphant return to top-flight football after gaining promotion from the First Division at the end of last season.

Justin Denbrook and Macai Simmons were also on target for St George’s, while Town hit back through goals from Clay Darrell and Jahnazae Swan.

As one might have expected, Kameron Fox, the St George’s coach, was overwhelmed to see his charges get their 2014-15 campaign off to a winning start.

“We are very excited with the result and I am very proud of my players who put in the work,” he said. “We missed a couple of chances and as defending champions Town came hard and made us work for what we got.

“I thought my players showed a lot of character. They dug in mentally and fought through. At the end of the day, we will take the three points.

“We have been putting in the work since June and everyone is happy to see all of the hard work paying off.”

Town had no one else to blame but themselves for their first loss of the new season in all competitions as they controlled most of this highly charged match and carved out enough chances in front of goal to come away with the desired result.

In contrast, underdogs St George’s fared much better in the attacking third and at times rode their luck as Town mounted waves of attacks after being forced to chase the game on three occasions.

Charles Marshall III, the St George’s goalkeeper, also made a string of crucial saves late in the match, including one from point-blank range deep in stoppage time to thwart Town substitute Ayshaun Smith.

Truth be told, however, Town should have had the game sewn up by then after creating openings in the home side’s defence on several occasions, especially when Fabian Frankson, the striker, hurried a shot from close range wide with only Marshall to contend with.

Any thoughts the visiting side might have had of an easy afternoon were cruelly dashed as early as the fourth minute when poor defending left Denbrook with the simple task of tapping in a cross from the right at the back post.

Despite falling in arrears, Town did not panic and, after being allowed far too much space in the middle of the park, drew level in the 21st minute when Darrell, the winger, beat Marshall at his near post after being played through by a defence-splitting pass from Frankson.

Controversy flared in the 29th minute when St George’s were awarded a penalty for a disputed handball in the box, which Simmons duly converted to the right of Cymande Davis, the Town goalkeeper, to restore the home side’s lead.

But Town were back on even terms in the 52nd minute after Swan squeezed a close range effort through a phalanx of legs past a blinded Marshall.

St George’s came close to restoring their lead when Jarazinho Bassett, the winger, struck the bar from close range.

Town had a confident appeal for a penalty fall on deaf ears and a goal ruled out for offside moments later, much to the dismay of their loyal band of supporters.

Then, with the game still hanging in the balance, Marshall raced off his line to clear a dangerous cross from Smith while Darrell shot high and wide after getting behind the St George’s defence as Town continued to dictate the tempo.

But just when it seemed as though both teams would have to settle for a share of the points, substitute Crane scored from a free kick outside of the box that took a deflection off George Dyer, the Town defender, and nestled inside Davis’s near post.