Rahji Edness tore the heart out of Dandy Town with a beautiful goal after 78 minutes to give North Village a deserved victory in this Martonmere Cup game at BAA last night.

Edness gracefully dribbled by three defenders after gaining possession just outside the penalty box and then completed the fine solo effort by slamming the ball home from close range to break the 1-1 deadlock.

The goal proved to be a stunning blow to a Dandy Town team that had started to play with more urgency and purpose after going through a frustrated first half when they were forced to play second-fiddle to their opponents.

The two teams had played to a scoreless draw in the opening round of the same tournament a year ago, but at least the large crowd was treated to goals this time as Village took the initiative in the first half.

Dandy Town, after trailing 1-0 at the interval to an early goal by Paul Simmons, looked capable of taking the upper hand when play resumed in the second half.

Obviously inspired by words from coach Mark Trott during the half, Dandy Town pushed powerfully forward and pinned down their opponents for long spells, but the equaliser did not come until Carlos Smith came on as a substitute for young striker Troy Lewis after 66 minutes.

Within three minutes Smith brought his team back level, slamming the ball home from an acute angle on the right after masterfully getting around mid-fielder Sheldon Franks.

The rhythm which Village displayed in the first half eventually managed to creep back into their play after the Town equaliser and it was during a quick counter-attack that Edness floored Dandy Town with the fine individual effort.

While Dandy Town were allowed to fight back and match their opponents for a long time when play restarted in the second half, Village deserved the victory on their first-half dominance in a game which had occasional periods of lacklustre play.

Cymande Davis in the Dandy Town goal, who shared Village's goal-keeping duties with Dwayne (Streaker) Adams last season, got a cruel introduction to the season when he was caught off his line and allowed a beautiful chip from Paul Simmons to fall into the goal and give Village a 1-0 lead after just five minutes.

With skipper Elliott Jennings spearheading most of their raids and big striker Phillip Clarke a constant threat up front, Village pinned down the defence for long spells but no more goals were forthcoming before the half. North Village: A.Swan; K.Grant, Ken.Jennings, D.Bell, W.Augustus; Kev.Jennings, S.Franks, E.Jennings; P.Simmons (S.Dill, 52 min), P.Clarke (R.Wilson, 66 min), R.Edness.

Dandy Town: C.Davis; L.Christopher, W.Campbell, T.Durham, W.Rudo; P.Douglas, D.Boyles (Z.Stowe, 72 min), P.Cann; K.Martin, T.Lewis (C.Smith, 66 min), W.Musson.

Referee: Esten Curtis.

Men of the match: Rahji Edness (North Village); Paul Cann (Dandy Town).