North Village 1 Devonshire Cougars 0

North Village reclaimed the Premier Division lead after striker Jaizel Smith-DeShields stuck out a boot late in the game to score the only goal at Bernard Park yesterday.

The match looked headed for a draw but Smith-DeShields was sent through by a long ball towards the Devonshire Cougars box by defender Zeon Robinson.

Zeko White, the Cougars defender, looked to have the ball covered only for the extended leg of Smith-DeShields go past him and lift the ball over the head of goalkeeper Kioshi White from about 15 yards for the winner.

The win enabled Village to return to the top by two points following Robin Hood’s goalless draw at home to Dandy Town on Saturday night.

“It was a very valuable three points, a great effort by the team in a very difficult match,” Kenny Thompson, the Village coach, said.

“We knew it was going to be difficult. Cougars have a lot of quality and are near the top as well, so we knew they would bring a very difficult challenge for us.

“We showed a lot of quality in our effort and the finish by Jaizel was high quality and good value for the three points.”

The match had few chances in the first half, with Chris Caisey of Cougars going closest in the 37th minute when he was put through by a series of passes before lifting the ball over the crossbar as goalkeeper Tahj Bell advanced.

Things did get better in the second half with both teams creating chances.

Zari Simmons, the Cougars midfielder, hit the crossbar just as the whistle went for a foul on Bell at the far post as he collected the ball from a corner on the left.

Village almost took the lead in the 63rd minute when fullback Devrae Tankard set up Smith-DeShields with a cross into the box, however, he poked his effort just wide of the far post. He then had an effort soon after ruled out for offside after Tankard was again involved.

Both teams made double substitutions midway through the second half as the match hung in the balance.

Smith-DeShields was involved in most of Village’s moves and it was fitting that he scored the winner.

“We were missing a bit of intensity in the first half and at half time we had to try to fix that,” Thompson added.

“We have to focus on us, the other results are helpful, but we really have to be focused on our matches.”

SCORERS

North Village

Smith-DeShields 83

TEAMS

North Village (4-3-3): T Bell — J Daniels (sub: A Darrell, 68), Z Robinson, T Fray, D Tankard — S Somner, D Daniels (sub: P Smith, 75), T Tucker — J Smith-DeShields, R Simons (sub: J Bell, 68), J Lee. Substitutes not used: P Castle, A Darrell, W Shakir, T Bean. Booked: Lee.

Devonshire Cougars (4-4-2): K Trott — Zekiro White, D Cox, Zeko White,

J Mouchette — C Maybury, Z Simmons, J Fox (sub: K Durrant, 75), C Caisey — D Bascome (sub: S Pearman, 75), E Darrell (sub: A Douglas, 56). Substitutes not used: A Samuels, J Wade, J Furbert-Wade, N Simmons. Booked: Douglas.

Referee: M Wyer.