St George’s 1 North Village 2Tyrell Burgess scored either side of the half to keep Rams’ championship hopes alive at Wellington Oval yesterday.The Rams’ centre back netted in the 37th and 73rd minutes in a match the visitors could have easily won by a wider margin had they made the most of their chances.That they didn’t allowed St George’s to remain in contention despite playing under intense pressure as Rams threatened to cut loose.The home side, who replied through a neat finish at the near post by Jarizinho Bassett, might have felt hard done not to have come away from the match with at least a share of the spoils.St George’s failed to hit the target despite playing the closing stages of the match with a numerical advantage after Rams live wire forward Jason Lee received his marching orders in the 75th minute for a lounging tackle on Bassett.In the end the real difference between the two sides on the day was Burgess’ clinical finishing at a venue he seems to thrive at.“Tyrell has good technique when he hits the ball correctly,” said Rams’ influential skipper Sammy DeGraff. “If he catches them usually they go in the back of the net or the keeper makes a great save.”DeGraff acknowledged his team did not play to their full potential but was nonetheless satisfied to get three precious points on the road.“It was a scrappy game and sometimes you have to win ugly,” he said. “I’m just happy we got the victory and the three points.”Despite his team creating more chances and dominating for longer spells, DeGraff said St George’s were no pushovers.“St George’s gave us a good run,” he added. “They worked hard as a team and made it tough.”St George’s coach Richard Todd felt his team deserved at least a point.“We worked hard but were unlucky in the end,” he said. “We found a goal that brought us back into it, but unfortunately we gave up that second one and we were unable to find anything additionally going in.”Rams remain third in the Premier standings while St George’s remain seventh.Burgess opened the scoring after St George’s switched off just minutes before the break. The Bermuda International cracked the ice with a glancing header from DeGraff’s free kick that soared into the back post.The goal arrived just seconds after St George’s forward Angelo Cannonier dragged a shot wide at the other end when scoring seemed easier.Rams should have had a more comfortable lead at the break. But Lee headed another set piece against the woodwork while Corey Boyce had a shot cleared off the line.These missed chances came back to haunt the visitors when Bassett levelled the scores with a well-taken finish from a set piece against the run of play.But before the dust had settled Rams regained the lead for good when Burgess smashed home the game winner from outside the 18-yard box.Lee was sent off two-minutes later for a senseless tackle on Bassett not long after rattling the bar for the second time with a fierce drive.With time ticking away, St George’s nearly clawed their way back as Cannonier curled an effort just wide. Rams’ ‘keeper Jason Williams also did well to block Bassett’s close range effort with his feet to protect his team’s lead.St George’s: Z Hendrickson, G Wade (M Crane, 83, E Signor, J Carlington, J Bassett, D Signor, Jarreau Hayward, J Hayward (R Basden, 65), C Darrell, A Cannonier, A Douglas Jr (A Dill, 85)Booked: A DouglasGoals: J Bassett, 70North Village: J Williams, T Burgess, K Dill, D Tankard, D Grant, J Davis, D DeGraff, J Jennings (J Boyles, 51), C Boyce (L Dill, 58), V Tankard (J Smith-DeShields, 78 mins), J LeeBooked: D Tankard, J Smith-DeShieldsRed card: J LeeGoals: T Burgess 37, 73Man of the match: T Burgess (Village)Referee: R Cann