Two goals in the first 46 minutes by Heys Wolfe and Darron Simons proved to be sufficient to hold off a spirited fight back by a young North Village squad in this Martonmere Cup opener at BAA on Saturday night.

A crowd of 1,600 saw Town take a 1-0 lead through Heyes after 28 minutes and stretch it a minute after the break when Simons netted.

Kaiwon Dill pulled one back for Village after 55 minutes but they were denied any further success largely because of some fine goalkeeping by young Jason Smith combined with sound defending by Dano Outerbridge.

Though both teams would have probably been given an approval rating for their performances in their first game of the season, play for long periods was undistinguished with attack after attack breaking down.

A somewhat uneventful first half saw Town gain a slight edge with the only threat offered by Village being the speed of winger Kevin Jennings.

After six minutes goalkeeper Smith dived to save a 18-yard drive from Jennings and 10 minutes later Village came close when a Jameiko Jennings shot deflected off a defender and sailed narrowlywide of the post.

But Town gradually came into the game and centre-back Outerbridge created their first chance after 22 minutes when he thundered a 15-yard free kick just over the bar.

As Town pressed the opening goal seemed inevitable and it came after 28 minutes when Wolfe got a ball from the left, masterfully juggled it on his knee and turned to squeeze it home from a narrow angle.

Kevin Jennings continued to bother the defence and could have levelled the score for Village after 34 minutes but his angled shot went into the goalkeeper's arms after he dribbled past two defenders.

Town, the more composed of the two sides, were denied a second goal five minutes before the break when Place's header from a cross by Simons saw goalkeeper Anthony Swan leap high into the air to tip over for a corner.

Within a minute of the re-start Town took a 2-0 lead when Simons headed home from close range after getting a rebound off centre-back Michael Hansey.

The goal proved to be a wake-up call for Village who pulled one back nine minutes later when Kawon Dill scored from close in from a cross from Kevin Jennings.

Dandy Town: J.Smith; L.Fubert, D.Outerbridge, J.Marshall, D.Bailey; H.Wolfe (R.Tucker, 84 min), D.Boyles, D.Binns (K.Martin, 79 min); P.Cann, D.Simons, W.Place (M.Smith, 65 min) North Village: A.Swan (S.Jennings, 55 min); J.Thomas (M.Hansey, 45 min), R.Spence, K.Dill, A.Simons; N.Robinson, V.Tankard, J.Jennings; K.Jennings, D.Brangman (E.Jennings, 65 min), K.Dill Referee: Anthony Mouchette Men of the match: Jason Smith (Town); Kevin Jennings (Village)