Cable & Wireless produced the shock result of the Commercial League season when they beat championship pretenders Key West Rangers 5-3 after a barnstorming second half at Shelly Bay Field on Saturday.

Rangers would have fancied their chances to go clear at the top of the A Division after a scoreless first half but Exiles, who move to fifth place with the result, had motives of their own.

Mike Smith, who gave Exiles a shock but short-lived lead in the 59th minute, prompted a hectic period that saw all eight goals scored in a span of 27 minutes — and at one point four in seven minutes.

Roderick Lewis equalised for Rangers within a minute and Richard Wilson gave the favoured team a 2-1 lead on 73 minutes. But, as was the case with Cable & Wireless, that lead would last only for a minute with Craig Crichlow on target.

Lewis netted his second to give Rangers their second lead in the 77th minute but Cable & Wireless hit them with a triple punch that will bring great joy to Robin Hood, the league leaders, who were without a match on the weekend.

Paul Humphries scored in the 80th minute, Anthony Trott in the 84th and Smith added his second with four minutes remaining to leave Rangers three points off the pace.

In what has become ritual, the first matches after the holiday season featuring teams with the greatest expatriate base — MR Onions v Robin Hood and Lobster Pot v BAA Wanderers — were postponed until January 19, the weekend of the FA Cup quarter-finals.

North Village Rams took advantage of the scheduling perk to move past Pot and Wanderers after a 1-0 defeat of Tuff Dogs. Elliott Jennings scored the lone goal for the Rams who have improved immeasurably after a dreadful start to the season.

The other scheduled A Division game between PHC Raiders and Vasco Mariners was not played because the pitch at Somerset Cricket Club was not marked.

Prospect/Fire nipped Prison Officers 2-1 in the feature B Division match to draw level on points with the second-placed team. Neil Tunnacliffe hit a 90th-minute winner to complete Prospect/Fire's comeback after Brian Paul had put through his own goal in the 42nd minute. Troy Furbert equalised five minutes into the second half.

The day proved to be a lost opportunity for the Officers because St. George's All-Stars, the leaders, dropped two points at home in a 1-1 draw with lowly Devonshire Lions.

Chris Pitcher gave the Lions a surprise lead in the 43rd minute but Freddy Hall spared the blushes of the home team when he netted with 16 minutes to go.

Bermuda Pest Control reached fourth place after a 3-1 win away to Devonshire Colts All-Stars. Ashley Dowling gave Pest the lead in the 59th minute but that was cancelled out by an own goal by Anthony Francis 11 minutes later.

Pest, who have been perennial strugglers in this division over the past decade, would not be denied, however, and sealed a fine win with goals by Steven Watts (78th) and Jamie Matthews (87th) to move within three points of the promotion places.

Heading in the other direction are Somerset Extros, the highest scorers in senior football, who defaulted to Wolves Pack on Saturday and are within one such result of being kicked out of the league.

The remaining match suffered the same fate as Valley International failed to show for their match away to Dockyard Falcons, who won the Goodwill Tournament hosted ironically by Extros over the holiday season.

[bul] Hemisphere Royals opened a three-point lead in the Women's League after a 4-0 victory over Prospect on Sunday. Tanya Semos notched a hat-trick and Sandra Madeiros netted the other goal.

Rude Girls, the champions, who now face a real threat to their domination of the women's game, slipped up in a 1-1 draw with Robin Hood. Arkeita Smith opened the scoring for Rude Girls in the 29th minute but Hood then held them at bay until Addy Bostlemann netted the equaliser with 12 minutes remaining.

Dandy Stars replaced Hood in third place after a 5-0 drubbing of Wolves Girls. Stacy Smith got off to a great start with goals in the fifth and 11th minutes and then turned the scoring responsibility to Tina Wall who completed a hat-trick in the 40th, 49th and 65th minutes.