Defending champions Devonshire Cougars handed Hamilton Parish their biggest loss of the season at the Den last night.

Cougars smashed five past a disorganised Parish side that paid the price for some sloppy defending.

Midfield general Drewonde Bascome led the home charge with a goal either side of the interval. Mark Steede, Domico Coddington and substitute Kenneth DeSilva were also on target for Cougars, whose emphatic win sent them three points clear atop the Premier Division.

Ian Coke netted a late consolation for Parish side whose fourth successive defeat was compounded by the loss of key midfielder Clevon Hill through injury.

Hill hurt his right foot in a tackle with Coddington and was subsequently replaced by Patrick Richardson at the half. Commenting on his team’s emphatic win, Cougars coach Dennis Brown said: “We did what we set out to do from the beginning. We had six regulars out tonight and the guys that came in did a very good job.”

Cougars pressed high from the kick-off and nearly made the breakthrough when Bascome headed a cross in the middle just wide of the upright. Parish were forced to play in their own half for long spells but threatened on the rare occasion when they broke on the counter-attack, towering striker Donavan Thompson nodding a free header over the bar on one such raid that caught Cougars in reverse.

But just as the game begin to open up, Parish defender Calvin Hansey felled Coddington in the box and Bascome duly stroked home the subsequent penalty kick in the 28th minute to send Cougars into the dressing room at the half with a 1-0 lead.

Parish started the second half with more confidence and purpose. But the visiting side fell in further arrears when Cougars striker Steede controlled Korvon Tucker’s cross in the middle of the area, shook off a defender and stroked the ball into the far bottom corner of Nigel Burgess’s goal.

Steede’s strike in the 55th minute ultimately proved to be the winner. But Cougars were not done just yet. As Parish continued to self-destruct, Cougars imposed their will upon their opponents and made them pay dearly for some poor defending.

Coddington made it 3-0 right on the hour mark when he converted from close range to finish off a quick raid down the middle.

DeSilva then got his name on the scoresheet in the 76th minute when he fired into an empty net from a tight angle with his first touch of the ball after a mix-up in the box between goalkeeper Burgess and defender Ijahmon Mallory.

Coke pulled one back for the visitors in the 85th minute when he chipped Cougars goalkeeper Kioshi Trott from an angle after a partial clearance dropped into his path.

But it was Cougars who would have the last say, Bascome applying the finishing touches to his team’s lopsided victory in stoppage time with a goal from close range just moments before referee Kuhn Evans blew the final whistle to end Parish’s misery.