Hornets prove they can also defend
Dandy Town 2
North Village 1
Goals from Dominique Williams and Kwonde Lathan earned Dandy Town victory against North Village in a closely fought FA Cup first-round match at St John’s Field yesterday.
Village dominated early on but could not turn their possession into goalscoring opportunities and fell behind after 25 minutes when Williams drilled in a low free kick beyond goalkeeper Jason Williams.
At the other end Mikkail Crockwell, the Town goalkeeper, was called into action late in the first half, pulling off saves from Jason Lee and Dakai Grant as Village went in pursuit of an equaliser.
Towns started the second half in a far livelier fashion than they did the first and doubled their lead on 52 minutes when Williams could only parry Damon Ming’s strike from the edge of the box, with Lathan reacting quickest to steer the ball home.
Village continued to play attractive football but struggled to penetrate Town’s robust defence, often finding themselves prone to counter attacks, with Angelo Simmons forcing a save from Williams after an excellent break involving substitute Damon Ming.
Village got their just rewards in the 70th minute when Shayne Hollis crashed in a superb scissor-kick to breathe life into his side’s hopes of a comeback.
They continued to press for an equaliser but could not breach Town’s watertight defence and it was the home side who went closest to scoring again when substitute Seion Darrell headed against the post from a Ming cross.
Jomar Wilkinson, the Town coach, was full of praise for his side’s unyielding backline.
“Village are always going to be a test for any team,” he said.
“It was important for us to do a good defensive job, which I think we did for the majority of the game.
“A little lapse in concentration led to their goal but overall I was very pleased with our defensive performance.”
Wilkinson believed both Town’s goals came when Village were starting to show some attacking teeth.
“The first 20 minutes was going to be very important,” he said. “And to get that first goal was really important.
“In the second half we took off an offensive player for a defensive player to make sure we locked it down.
“Kamali Davis came on and really did a superb job for us. He gave us the energy we needed.
“We’re deserving of making it to a final through our play this season.”
Dandy Town 2
Williams 25, Lathan 52
North Village 1
Hollis 69
Dandy Town (3-5-2): M Crockwell — D Williams, K Lathan, L Millet — K Tucker, L Tucker, D Bascome (sub: S Darrell, 76min), D Lambert (sub: D Ming, 45) — A Simmons, Q Maynard (sub: K Davis, 72). Substitutes not used: F Frankson, J Richardson-Martin, J Swan. Booked: Tucker.
North Village (4-4-2): J Williams — P Parsons, T Burgess, J Harvey, T Fray (K Lewis, 60) — D Grant, V Tankard, T Durham (sub: D Daniels, 60), S Hollis — J Lee, P Smith (sub: E Zuill, 75). Substitutes not used: J Samuels, Z Bowen. Booked: Parsons.
Referee: A Francis.
