Dandy Town 4 Robin Hood 1

Premier Division leaders Dandy Town maintained their five-point cushion after cruising to a comfortable win over a wasteful Robin Hood at Goose Gosling Field yesterday.

Town, who started the contest just two points ahead of PHC who beat St George’s 3-0 earlier in the day to cut into the Hornets’ advantage, responded early in their assignment, as Aaron Denkins’s team led 2-0 at the interval courtesy of strikes from Jomei Bean-Lindo and Cecoy Robinson.

Chae Brangman pulled one back for Hood after the break before Town hit back through goals from Robinson and Tomiko Goater to put the match beyond reach and more importantly widen the gap between themselves and PHC.

“I think we started off good and got a nice early goal,” Eusebio Blankendal, the Town defender and captain, said.

“I felt like we gradually worked our way in the game and then started to maybe just turn a little bit, so we had to get our heads back. I felt like we started playing a little slow afterwards.

“Then after the second half started I felt like we picked it back up and played how we want to play.”

As for the two-horse title race with PHC, Blankendal added: “We’re pleased to increase our lead but we are going to take it one game at a time. You can’t do nothing else and everything is in our hands.”

The scoreline flattered to deceive as Hood were never outplayed and had they converted more of their chances, could have easily come away with something to show for their efforts.

Town were also guilty of squandering opportunities, which kept Hood in with a shout before Robinson and Goater pounced late to finally make the points safe.

Defender Bean-Lindo gave Town a dream start when he made the early breakthrough after winning the ball deep in Hood’s half and unleashed a swerving low shot that caught goalkeeper Matthew Fullerton flat-footed.

The goal seemed to jolt Hood into action as they enjoyed a good spell of possession, which was highlighted by a Brangman free kick from outside the box which was saved by Town goalkeeper Julian Roser.

Goater should have doubled Town’s lead after breaking free but sliced is effort wide from an angle with only Fullerton to beat.

However, they would not be denied moments later when Robinson opened his account against the run of play.

The experienced striker converted his own rebound from inside the box after his initial effort struck the post and rolled invitingly back into his path.

Despite falling further in arrears, Hood battled on and went close when Roser rushed off his line to block Brangman’s angled shot from the left side of the box.

The powerful striker was back in the thick of the action right at the start of the second half when his 25-yard blast was pushed around the post by the alert Roser.

Hood kept the pressure on with defender Jaylon Bather’s glancing header going just wide and Aaron Nelson side-footing a loose ball in the box to the same end result.

They finally got their goal when Brangman whipped in a low free kick from outside the box that caught Roser hopelessly out of position.

Hood then blew a glorious opportunity to draw level when Daniel Cook dragged wide when well-positioned inside the box.

That and the other missed opportunities ultimately came back to haunt Hood as their opponents found another gear and gradually pulled away.

It was virtually game over when Robinson grabbed his second after getting another lucky bounce in the box after his initial effort was parried by Fullerton.

Goater then rubbed more salt in Hood’s wounds when he latched on to Nizigh Spence’s pass in the box and smashed the ball through Fullerton’s legs to put an exclamation mark on the victory and keep PHC at bay. The Zebras will have a chance to cut into Town’s lead tomorrow when they face Southampton Rangers at Devonshire Rec at 8pm.

SCORERS

Dandy Town: Bean-Lindo 5, Robinson 30, 79, Goater 87

Robin Hood: Brangman 64

TEAMS

Dandy Town (4-1-4-1): J Roser 7 – J Bean-Lindo 7, T Webb 7, T Manders 7, E Blankendal 7 – A Furbert 7 – E Swan 7 (sub: M Parsons 86min), K Davis 7 (sub: J Samuels 71), T Goater 7, N Spence 7 – C Robinson 7 (sub: J Johnson 86). Substitutes not used: J Manders, S Darrell, M Issac, M Mello-Cann. Booked: Webb.

Robin Hood (4-1-4-1): M Fullerton 6 – K Knights 6, J Bather 6, C Robinson 6, T Bean 6 (sub: N Massa 77) – L Evans 6 – D Cook 6, A Nelson 6, T Goater 6, N Outerbridge 6 – C Brangman 7. Substitutes not used: E Outerbridge. Booked: Goater.

Referee: A Francis.