Devonshire Cougars 3 Dandy Town 0

Devonshire Cougars kept their Premier Division title hopes alive with an emphatic victory over Dandy Town at Devonshire Rec last night.

A first-half strike from Jayori Fox with further goals from Domico Coddington and Jecoa Thomas after the break wrapped up a comfortable evening for Cougars, who leapfrog North Village into third place in the league on goal difference.

The victory for coach Kwame Steede’s side means they are just two points adrift of leaders St George’s Colts ahead of a blockbuster match against their rivals at Wellington Oval on Saturday.

“That’s keeps us on pace in the league and within touching distance of St George’s ahead of a massive game this weekend,” Steede said.

“I was delighted with the performance. We worked hard really hard across the pitch, showed how much we wanted it and executed our chances when they came. We needed a victory and you could see how much we wanted this result, so I’m delighted with the team.”

After going close to opening the scoring in the fifth minute when Treadwell Gibbons Jr was forced into a smart close-range save, Fox found a breakthrough just five minutes later.

Coddington saw his initial shot well saved by Gibbons, only for the ball to fall back into the path of the forward, who teed up Fox to tap in from close range.

Cougars dominated much of the opening half with Town not creating an opening until the 31st minute and even then it proved a simple save for Tahj Bell, who made light work of Azendae Furbert’s weak effort from the edge of the area.

Coddington had the ball in the net again just three minutes later, slotting in after Lejuan Simmons’s effort had been saved, but his celebrations were cut short when the offside flag was raised.

Just as they had in the first 45 minutes, Town could not live with Cougars’ high-intensity pressing, which should have resulted in a second goal ten minutes after the restart.

After putting defender Seion Darrell under immense pressure, Coddington robbed him on the edge of the area only to blaze over with Gibbons to beat.

Just two minutes later, Cougars again had the ball in the net when Simmons raced on to a defence-splitting pass from Coddington before smartly finishing past the onrushing Gibbons. However, a contentious late offside decision was made, much to the forward’s dismay.

There was to be no lifeline for Town from the officials on the hour mark as Cougars deservedly doubled their advantage. This time, Simmons turned provider to pick out Coddington inside the area, and he skipped past a defender before firing a right-footed effort into the bottom-left corner.

Still reeling, Town fell a further goal behind just five minutes later when a dangerous inswinging free kick was cleared only as far as the left corner of the area to Thomas, who without hesitation unleashed a strike that arrowed into the top corner.

With Town heads visibly dropping at their failure to cope with Cougars’ intensity out of possession, the away side had goalkeeper Gibbons to thank for keeping the deficit at three.

Edry Moore was dispossessed on the edge of the box with the ball finding its way to an unmarked Coddington inside the area and he must still be wondering how he did not score as his low, driven effort was somehow tipped on to the post by Gibbons.

With the result now beyond doubt, Cougars controlled the rest of the game, dictating possession to wrap up a vital three points.

SCORERS

Devonshire Cougars: Fox 13, Coddington 60, Thomas 65.

TEAMS

Devonshire Cougars (4-5-1): T Bell 7 – T Tucker 7, Z White 7, N Furbert 7, Thomas 8 – J Brimmer 7 (sub: N Simmons, 80min), Z Simmons 7 (sub: J Wade, 80), C Caisey 8, J Fox 7 (sub: D Daniels, 71), L Simmons 7 (sub: J Smith, 71) – D Coddington 7 (sub: Keshun Steede, 80). Substitutes not used: J Furbert-Wade, L Millett. Booked: Tucker, White.

Dandy Town (4-5-1): T Gibbons 7 – S Darrell 5 (sub: T Smith, 85), E Moore 5, S Tatem 6 (sub: T Rogers, 72), J Wilson-Butterfield 5 – D Scraders 6 (sub: Z Hart, 85), N Spence 6, J Bean-Lindo 6, J Chapman 6, T Goater 6 – A Furbert 6. Booked: Moore.

Referee: A Francis.