North Village 2

Somerset Eagles 0

North Village diehards were hardly proud of yesterday's showing against Somerset Eagles ? but they gladly took the three points.

The 90 minutes of football at Bernard Park were not at all pretty and Eagles, who doggedly held their own against the two-time defending Premier Division champions, could feel hard done by after not getting a share of the points.

In a rough affair that had referee Lyndon Raynor blowing his whistle regularly, Eagles kept Village at bay almost to the death before conceding two late goals.

There was palpable relief in the home side's camp as first Dwight (Payback) Warren and then Keith Jennings netted in the 80th and 84th minutes.

Other than those two strikes ? and a near third by Jennings about two minutes after his first ? Village rarely looked the team that savaged Eagles 5-0 in last Tuesday's Martonmere Cup semi-final.

Their trademark slick moves, pinpoint passing and intuitive off-the-ball running were missing, leaving one to wonder how many times coach Scott Morton ? recuperating in hospital ? would have flown off the bench in frustration had he been present.

Club officials and fans openly admitted they were lucky to escape with a win.

Apart from the scorers ? particularly Warren who came on at the half and injected life into the attack ? credit must also go to Village's defensive line, Kimandi Binns, Kofi Dill and Kentoine Jennings.

This trio withstood repeated threats from the crafty Lamaul Crofton and a determined Rodre Wilson, the latter summoned into action after an injury to Marco Butterfield late in the first half.

Much of the match was a scrappy, fruitless midfield battle that saw both sides lacking badly in their respective final thirds of the pitch. The few shots on goal that either enjoyed flew wide of the target or were easily collected by the 'keepers.

Warren's arrival, however, gave Village the edge as his speed and skill on the left flank heralded a flurry of shots at Eagles custodian Ian Raynor. Just when it looked like the visitors would take a point back to the west, Warren struck.

Collecting a diagonal pass from Jamaul Boyles, the veteran made no mistake from the edge of the area, smashing the ball past a diving Raynor's right hand.

Four minutes later, Jennings ? who had hit his fair share of potential goals wide ? made amends with an acrobatic horizontal bicycle kick that volleyed a lofted ball into the net.

He almost had a fortuitous second goal a few minutes later as goalie Raynor rushed forward to clear a dangerous ball but only succeeded in smashing it into the oncoming Jennings. The rebound spun perilously towards goal and only Kirk Simons' last-ditch heroics prevented it from going in.

North Village: Z.Hendrickson, K.Binns, K.Dill, Kentoine Jennings, J.Boyles, M.Hansey, J.Jennings (D.Jennings, 88 mins), R.Bean Jr, Keith Jennings, K.Jennings (Q.Paynter, 49 mins), V.Tankard (D.Warren, 45 mins). I.Raynor, K.Simons, D.Burgess, S.Worrell, M.Hunt, M.Butterfield (R.Wilson, 35 mins), J.Butterfield, S.Dill, D.Binns (D.Dowling, 45 mins), L.Crofton, S.Simmons. Q.Paynter (Village); M.Hunt, D.Binns, K.Simons, R.Wilson (Eagles). D.Warren (Village); S.Simmons (Eagles). L.Raynor