North Village 2 Dandy Town 6

Angelo Simmons netted four goals at Bernard Park to hand North Village their biggest loss of the season and lift Dandy Town into the top three for the first time.

Devarr Boyles, the Town coach, was a happy man, going back to the ground where he coached last season and coming away with another heavy win to make it 11 goals scored in two games after their 5-2 win over Somerset Trojans in the FA Cup quarter-final last weekend.

“Once we got the third goal the result was finished at that point, so the other three goals was gloss on it,” Boyles said.

“I was disappointed with the way we conceded, not so much the first goal but definitely the second.

“We’re building, the team is growing, and it is nice to see more people contributing, so I’m excited right now.”

Village are just four points clear of the relegation zone

“North Village are in a tough spot now, but they have the quality to get through it,” Boyles said. “They just have to rally together, stay together and listen to their coaches.

“I’m sure they will get what they need. Four more points should be good enough.”

Town had the worst possible start, conceding after just seven minutes and losing defender K’wonde Lathan to an injury.

Lathan, injured in the attack which earned Village a free kick, was receiving treatment when Justin Bell’s free kick from the left side was deflected into his own goal by Azende Furbert. Lathan was replaced by Jahtino Richardson-Martin.

The match had a frantic opening 15 minutes, with Town equalising three minutes later when a long ball down the right flank enabled to Jahnazae Swan race through before slotting past advancing goalkeeper Tahj Bell.

Town went ahead for the first time in the fourteenth minute as Simmons opened his account by scoring from a free kick on the edge of the box.

The third goal arrived when Eusebio Blankendal pounced on a half clearance by the Village defence to hammer a left-footed shot inside the near post.

Town settled the points in the eight minutes after the interval when Simmons scored from a rebound after a shot from Blankendal was saved by Bell.

At the other end, Village went close when Che’Kai Caisey ran through down the left before his shot rolled past the far post. Simmons completed his hat-trick five minutes later from the penalty spot after Ming was brought down in the box by Patraic Castle. Bell got his fingers to the spot kick but was unable to keep it out.

Caisey, reduced the deficit to 5-2 in the 78th minute when his shot found the far bottom corner. However, Town regained their four-goal lead a minute from the end after a run and cross from the left found Simmons who fired past Bell from six yards out.

The win lifts Town ahead of X-Roads who lost to PHC on Saturday, keeping alive their hopes of matching last season’s third-place finish.

“Our next two matches are against Boulevard, who need points [to ensure their safety], and then a head-to-head with X-Roads, so those two games will certainly determine what happens,” said Boyles, whose team was thrashed 6-0 by X-Roads in November.

Both teams are also in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

“We’re looking to build some rhythm so we can go into the cup with a little more confidence,” Boyles added.

“The team didn’t show well in the Friendship Trophy final for whatever reason and it has bothered them more than me which is good. We’re now putting all our eggs in that [FA Cup] basket as the league is already gone.”

Goals

North Village Furbert 7 og, Caisey 78,

Dandy Town

Swan 10, Simmons 15, 53, 75 (pen), 89; Blankendal 35

TEAMS

North Village (4-5-1): T Bell — P Castle, J Davis, T Fray, Z Hendrickson — D Dillas (sub: T Wilson, 36min), J Briers (sub: G Butterfield, 56), J Bell, P Smith, C Caisey — J Smith-DeShields (sub: W Shakir, 79). Substitute not used: K Smith.

Dandy Town (3-5-2): J Manders — A Furbert (sub: N Smith, 62), K Lathan (sub: J Richardson-Martin, 7), K Simmons — T Manders, M Parsons (sub: L Emery, 69), E Blankendal, D Ming, J Swan — A Simmons, K Steede. Substitutes not used: S Darrell, T Woodley, O Wilson, J Roser. Booked: Furbert.

Referee: M Wyer.