Devonshire Colts 0

Devonshire Cougars 3

It's often said that a team are only as strong as their bench and at Police Field yesterday visiting Devonshire Cougars proved that theory correct.

Two late goals from subs Lamont Brangman and Tafari Smith and a third from skipper Kwame Steede gave the Big Cats a deserved win over hosts Devonshire Colts, whose search for a maiden league win this season continues after yet another uninspiring display.

Cougars' fifth league win of the season keeps them in the thick of the hunt for Premier Division honours, just a point adrift of leaders Dandy Town who left it late before seeing off the threat of Hamilton Parish at nearby St. John's Field.

Cougars also snapped a four-game losing streak with coach Devarr Boyles now keeping his fingers crossed that yesterday's result was a sign of better things to come.

"Mentally this was a very big game for us in every sense of the word, and goals always give a team confidence," he said.

Cougars controlled most of this scrappy affair but had to wait until sub Brangman leapt from the bench to set up Steede's eventual game-winner.

And after Steede knocked in Brangman's measured pass behind the defence in the 50th minute, the end result was never in doubt.

"It was just a matter of being patient and trying to create some luck in front of goal," added Boyles. "Lamont and Tafari both made big contributions for us today. They added some balance to our team and their performances were very encouraging."

Cougars should have had the match all sewn up before the half, such was their dominance over their hosts who, apart from some exceptional defending by skipper Joseph Butterfield, were repeatedly exposed at the back.

The Big Cats declared their intentions early when Colts' 'keeper Gregory Rose went airborne to push Kwame Steede's angled shot from beyond the arc around the post.

Moments later midfielder Randy Robinson burst through the middle but dragged his shot wide before cousins Mark and Moses Steede made a complete mess of Domico Coddington's probbing cross in the area.

With only 'keeper Rose to beat, the towering Mark Steede miskicked the ball which was then inexplicably lifted over the bar by Moses, virtually standing on the goal line.

Cougars defender Kijuan Franks also headed over after rising unchallenged to meet a Robinson corner while the menacing Coddington was always a threat attacking down the flanks.

Whatever words of encouragement Cougars coach Boyles had in store for his players during the break they seemed to take immediate effect when play resumed with sub Brangman jumping off the bench to inject more life into his team's cause.

It was Brangman who hand a major say in the visitors' long-awaited breakthrough as he picked out skipper Steede, who timed his run with perfection before duly dispatching his low shot into the far post with authority.

Steede's clinical strike knocked the wind out of Colts' sails and two minutes later they fell further in arrears when the Cougars skipper returned the favour to the energetic Brangman who rifled a low shot past Rose to put the visitors in full command.

Super sub Smith then emphatically capped off Cougars' convincing away win with arguably the goal of the game. With time and space at his leisure, Smith chested down Coddington's cross in the middle and then banged in Cougars' third and final goal with a thunderous volley that flew into the net in stoppage time.

Devonshire Colts - G.Rose, J.Butterfield (capt), E.Wilkin, M.Williams, J.Williams, T.Foote, O.Ray (C.Trott, 63 mins), M.Piper, S.Perinchief, Q.Aberdeen (M.Pace, 73 mins), A.Famous (Z.Darrell, 77 mins).

Devonshire Cougars - A.Ingham, D.Cox, K.Franks, J.Butterfield, R.Robinson, M.Steede, T.Steede, D.Coddington, M.Steede (L.Brangman, 45 mins), Z.White (M.Smith, 70 mins), K.Steede (capt) (T.Smith, 70 mins).

Yellow card: J.Butterfield (Colts)

Man of the match: L.Brangman (Cougars)

Referee: Alton Reid