Boulevard 1 Devonshire Cougars 2

Machi Battersbee’s 68th-minute winner proved to be the difference in this scrappy Premier Division match at Police Field yesterday.

The Devonshire Cougars striker kept his cool to slot home after being sent clear by Cashun Brangman’s defence-splitting pass to secure the points for the visiting side.

Mikkiel Thomas and Ian Coke had earlier traded goals either side of the interval to keep the game hanging in the balance before Battersbee’s intervention.

Over the years these two teams have produced some exciting battles.

However, yesterday’s affair certainly was not one of them with both teams resembling anything but Premier Division material with their wastefulness in front of goal.

Boulevard came out swinging from the kick off and their early pressure nearly paid off during a raid down the left channel.

The prolific Coke did well to create enough space to whip in a cross which Ernest Trott failed to connect with one yard from the goal line.

The visiting side suffered a setback when Kijuan Franks, the centre back, pulled a calf muscle in the twelfth minute and was replaced by substitute Christian Albouy. This forced Omar Butterfield, the Cougars coach, to tweak his backline with Zeko White dropping from midfield to his regular position.

Cougars eventually drew first blood after Boulevard conceded a soft free kick deep in their own half. Zari Simmons delivered an inviting cross which Thomas nodded in at the back post to put the visiting side ahead.

Cougars picked up where they left off after the break and nearly doubled their advantage with a set piece. Simmons’s free kick was met by the boot of Thomas whose first-time effort was turned around the post by the alert Adams.

Forced to chase the game, Boulevard threw more numbers forward and the tactic worked as Coke equalised in spectacular fashion.

The Cougars defence stood frozen as the striker controlled Jahleel Crockwell’s pass on his chest with his back to goal and fired past Outerbridge-Smith on the turn from just inside the 18-yard box.

Brangman surged forward on another counterattack and slipped the ball behind the defence into open space for Battersbee to run onto and beat Adams with a low shot in the bottom right corner.

Boulevard refused to throw in the towel and came close to equalising in the closing minutes.

Takeyhi Walker’s volley took a wicked deflection off a defender and rolled inches wide of the near post while Crockwell’s ambitious scissors kick also went just wide as Cougars held on.