Ireland Rangers 0 North Village 9

In a match that demonstrated the gulf between the top and bottom of the Premier Division, Village brushed aside a disorganised and woefully under-prepared Ireland Rangers with hat-tricks from Nakia Smith and Ralph Bean jr. at Malabar yesterday.

The Reds racked up nine by the end but it could ? and should ? have been significantly more as Bermuda's version of Liverpool against West Bromwich Albion went predictably to script.

The hat-trick men were joined by Damon Wade, Shane Hollis and Vernon Tankard on the scoresheet as Rangers' miserable season lurched to a new low.

From the first whistle, two things were obvious: a) the crowd were only ever going to outnumber the players and officials by a low number and b) Village were going to win comfortably.

On paper they were clear favourites both in terms of player quality and form, and that translated into a match where the tempo was as slow as the competitiveness was low.

That it took 15 minutes for Dwayne (Streaker) Adams' men to take their deserved lead is a credit to the Premier newcomers, but the goal was a silly one to concede.

Village's second corner of the match was played short and although the angled cross was cleared, it fell at the feet of Vernon Tankard. He fired through a forest of legs and when 'keeper Ricky Tucker spilled it back out directly in front of him, Bean was the first to react, lifting the ball into the net.

Nakia Smith was to double and then triple that lead in a seven-minute spell, with both goals coming courtesy of some generous marking.

In the 18th minute he headed home unmarked at the far post and then in the 25th, he hung off his marker to receive a dipping aerial through ball before taking one touch to control and then firing in low off Tucker's left-hand post.

It might have been out of sympathy, or maybe simple disbelief, but Village then squandered a succession of chances with Smith turning down a hat-trick opportunity by wasting an open header on the half-hour mark.

Rangers' first shot ? albeit off target ? came after 34 minutes by which time Village had earned five corners and their defenders hadn't come close to breaking sweat.

The ease with which Bean side-footed home a 25-yard free kick in the 38th minute summed up the inequality of this match-up while his highly muted celebration suggested an element of embarrassment creeping in to the now inevitable victory.

The second half, predictably, saw Village ease their collective feet off the gas which allowed Rangers to push a little more than they had in the first.

But they still weren't able to do that much with it and the fifth goal came 12 minutes in.

Wade added his name to the scoresheet with a well-taken finish to an accomplished passage of play.

It then became just a matter of time before a visiting player grabbed their hat-trick, with the money on Bean after Smith wasted another open header and then had a shot cleared off the line.

But with 18 minutes left, the bearded striker was the one to claim his third.

Tankard supplied the cross and Smith supplied the rather ugly diving header which crept in beside Tucker's right-hand post.

Four minutes later and Bean was allowed his moment of glory too, being offered the honours after a clumsy challenge gave Village a 76th-minute penalty.

The striker stepped up to slot the ball to the 'keeper's left and plummet Rangers to new depths at 7-0 down.

In the 81st minute, diminutive sub Hollis piled on the anguish, firing across Tucker, who again should have done better, with the 'keeper's weak touch with the right hand not enough to keep the ball from trickling across the line.

Tankard had his turn three minutes later, firing in a rocket of a half-volley from 25 yards for the ninth ? and best ? of the day.

Rangers' performance literally became laughable by the end with even their own players smiling at the predicament while the Village men had similar grins as their opponents reached new levels of ineptitude.

The biggest cheer of the day, however, came for Tucker's 89th minute double save which kept the scoreline in single digits.

The sad thing about the whole game from Ireland Rangers' point of view was that Village didn't even play all that well.

Ireland Rangers: R. Tucker, W. Anderson, J. Saltus, C. Anderson, T. Codrington, J. Codrington (A. Trott, 32 mins), J. Ryees, T. Mallory, S. Brangman, S. Smith, M. Smith. Z. Hendrikson, D. Edwards, K. Dill, K. Jennings, D. Jennings, S. Boyles, V. Tankard, R. Bean, N. Smith, D. Wade (K. Bean, 63 mins), K. Dill (S. Hollis, 55 mins) Tristan Codrington (Rangers) None (Rangers); Ralph Bean jr. (Village) Joe Pimental.