North Village 1 Dandy Town 1

North Village lost precious ground in the Premier Division title race after being held to a draw by a rejuvenated Dandy Town at Bernard Park on Sunday.

Leading 1-0 thanks to a Rai Sampson own goal, Town were only seconds away from victory when they conceded a penalty, which Village wing back Jalen Harvey dispatched with the last kick of the match to rescue a point.

“I just put my head down and stepped up for my team,” a relieved Harvey told The Royal Gazette. ‘“It’s a team effort at the end of the day.

“We wish we had three points, but I am happy to help my team get a draw.”

Village were the better side and created ample opportunities to score but were left frustrated by a combination of poor finishing and some excellent defending by their opponents.

“We were the better team and I think we should have won, but we didn’t put chances away and the result is the result at the end of the day,” Harvey said.

Village now trail leaders and defending champions PHC Zebras by three points with four matches remaining in the league campaign.

New Town coach Scott Morton felt his team deserved all three points but was inspired by the improvements made since he took over head coaching duties from Aaron Denkins this month.

“I am proud of my players,” Morton said. “They gave everything they can as far as the team talk and trying to implement it, and I give them one hundred percent for their effort today,” he said.

“It’s my second week in so there are some slight adjustments individually and collectively that I have implemented and I can see the growth from the last match to this match.

“They stuck to the gameplan and as you can see by the reaction, they really deserve something more than what came out of this game.”

Several Town players disputed Canadian referee Matt Souare’s decision to award Village a penalty, but Morton refused to be drawn on the matter.

“I don’t get into calls, I respect the referees,” he added.

Town created the first real opportunity of the match when Damon Ming fired fellow midfielder Tomiko Goater’s diagonal cross into the side netting.

Village eventually seized control and bombarded Town’s goal in search of the breakthrough with strikers Jaizel Smith-DeShields and Jai Bean squandering good opportunities.

Town goalkeeper Daniel Johnson positioned himself well to deny Smith-DeShields, who was then dispossessed by centre back Mateo Issac as he shaped to shoot inside the area.

Town then won a free kick in a dangerous area against the run of play which midfielder Jomei Bean -Lindo curled wide of the post to leave the teams deadlocked at the interval.

Morton then rolled the dice by bringing on Angelo Simmons at the start of the second half and his gamble paid off as the experienced player had a hand in his team’s goal.

Simmons released overlapping left back Daniel Cook, whose intended cross was turned in at the near post by Village defender Sampson.

Both teams then created chances as the game opened up. Harvey and Town striker Cecoy Robinson both had shots saved while Village striker Bean had a header from a free kick saved and then curled another effort wide with the goal at his mercy.

Village pressed on while Town tried desperately to cling to their slim advantage and their persistence ultimately paid off when they were awarded a penalty after Harvey went down down in the area under a challenge by centre back Edry Moore.

With his team staring straight down the barrel of defeat, Harvey kept his cool when it mattered most and converted from 12 yards to spare Village’s blushes.

SCORERES

North Village: Harvey 90+3 pen

Dandy Town: Sampson og 51

North Village (4-4-2): D Bell 7 – J Harvey 7, K Knights 7, R Sampson 7, T Wilson 7 – K Harrison 7, L Evans 7, T Ming 6 (sub: T Tucker, 71min 7), T Williams 7 – J Smith- DeShields 6 (sub: D Wainwright, 80), J Bean 6. Substitutes not used: P Smith, I Simmons, J Outerbridge, T Bean, A DeShield-Tankard. Booked: Harrison

Dandy Town (4-1-4-1): D Johnson 7 – D Cook 7, M Issac 7, E Moore 7, E Outerbridge 7 – A Daniels 7 (sub: N Spence, 64 7)- K Sharrieff- Hayward 6 (sub: A Simmons, 46 6), J Lindo- Bean 7, D Ming 7, T Goater 7 – C Robinson 7 (sub: J Samuels, 74 6). Substitutes not used: S Darrell, J Richardson-Martin, K Brangman, G Liburd. Booked: Outerbridge

Referee: M Souare (Canada).