Three goals in extra time finally sealed Robin Hood’s place in the semi-finals as the training lights at Bernard Park were switched on so that this cup match could be completed in near darkness at 5.25.

The match did not start until 2.59 instead of the scheduled 2.30 after the opening Shield match between Southampton Rangers and St George’s also went into extra time.

Then the tie had some interesting twists and turns after defender Terryn Fray put a diving header past his own goalkeeper Tahj Bell to give Hood the lead, as he tried to clear Lejaun Simmons’s cross from the right.

Just a minute earlier, Fray almost set up an opening goal for Village when his free kick into the box saw Jaizel Smith-DeShields put his effort wide.

Village showed plenty of character as they battled for the equaliser in the first half, with Che’Kai Caisey battling hard up front along with Smith-DeShields and Justin Bell to create some openings. They were rewarded for their efforts with not just an equaliser but also a go-ahead goal in the space of seven minutes early in the second half.

Hood then came back with an equaliser from Tomiko Goater in the 74th minute before he almost won it in regulation time five minutes later when he followed up on a shot from captain Lejuan Simmons from 20 yards which Bell did well to save. Goater miskicked from inside the six-yard box as the spinning ball sliced off his boot and went wide of the post, not even going out for a goal kick.

“When Village took that 2-1 lead, we had to grind it out and show some character,” coach John Barry Nusum admitted. “It was nice for us that we were able to get that one back.

“For Goater, it was one of those things where the ball was spinning, so I give him the benefit of the doubt. He was the one who put us into extra-time as well so you couldn’t harp on that.”

Caisey levelled for Village in the 51st minute when he capitalised on an error from goalkeeper Dale Eve, who dummied the ball near his touchline thinking it was going out for a corner. However, Bell kept it in and crossed into the goal area where Caisey forced it over the line.

Smith-DeShields scored from a corner on the left to put the home team up front for the first time before Hood, facing a first loss since the season-opening Charity Cup, battled back to make it 2-2 and send the match into extra time. Fullback Tariq Sabir did the hard work with his run down the left before crossing into the middle where Goater pounced after the defence failed to clear the ball and drove it home from close range.

Hood were able to take control of the match in extra time after Antwan Russell drove a low shot in from 20 yards following a throw-in on the right. The diving Bell got his fingertips to the ball but could not prevent it from finding the bottom corner.

Two goals late in the second period of extra time cushioned Hood’s lead and sealed the win. Ereico Outerbridge, a second half substitution, netted the fourth in the 116th minute and then captain Simmons closed out the scoring in the final minute to take Hood through.

Nusum admitted the lighting was not the best, but it provided an interesting finish to the match in conditions that Village regularly train in. “I’m used to it from Wolves’ days at Devonshire Rec when it was a little bit brighter than this,” he said.

“It was dark the last 15 minutes or so, but for the most part it was okay. We could have easily not have gone through today, Village played well and went up 2-1.

“At one point we looked like we were starting to hang our heads a little bit so I’m very glad to get the goals in the extra stanza and finish it off. It gives us a bit of momentum to be able to go into the next game and know we’re in every game.

“There are some good teams left, we’ll play in the semi-finals and see what happens.”

SCORERS

North Village 2

Caisey 51; Smith-DeShields 58

Robin Hood 5

Fray (og) 22; Goater 74; Russell 104; Outerbridge 116; Simmons 120

(after extra time)

TEAMS

North Village (4-3-3): T Bell — P Castle (sub: K Knights, 73min), T Fray, J Davis, J Thomas — J Briers (sub: Z Dill, 93), K Francois, P Smith (sub: Z Bowen, 71) — J Smith-DeShields (sub: G Butterfield, 73), C Caisey (sub: Z Dill, 93), J Bell. Substitutes not used: Z Hendrickson, W Shakir, D Dillas. Booked: Thomas, Bell, Caisey, Francois, Knights.

Robin Hood (4-3-3): D Eve — J Pereira (sub: L Symonds, 114), D Andrade, J Bather, T Sabir (sub: E Outerbridge, 109) — P Parsons (sub: L Evans, 62), T Goater, A Nelson — A Russell, L Simmons, S Smith (sub: C Castle, 69). Substitutes not used: T Bean, Z Burgess, C Ricca, R Wray. Booked: Goater, Parsons, Bather.

Referee: M Wyer.