Young Men’s Social Club 0 North Village 5

North Village regained top spot in the Premier Division on the back of a dominant display over ten-men Young Men’s Social Club at Police Field on Sunday.

Village ruthlessly exploited some poor defending with two goals from striker D’Andre Wainwright and wing-back Jalen Harvey and another from substitute Pierre Smith putting Kenny Thompson’s side within touching distance of the championship with two games to play

Social Club were forced to play a man short after goalkeeper Saki Tuzo picked up a second yellow card in the 59th minute for handling outside of his area and their frustrations were further compounded when defender Ryan Parris’s penalty kick was saved by Village goalkeeper Detre Bell, who guessed correctly to preserve his clean sheet.

The result saw Village leapfrog previous leaders, and champions PHC Zebras, into top spot in the standings after the latter were held to a draw by Paget Lions 24 hours earlier and Village coach Kenny Thompson was pleased his team capitalised on Zebras’ slip.

“We are pleased with the performance as this was an opportunity for us and it takes sometimes a good mindset to take advantage of these opportunities,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“Sometimes opportunities like that present themselves and when the mindset is not right then the opportunity can be lost, but again it shows the space we are in that the players were able to seize the moment, seize the opportunity and now we are top.”

Village now top the pile by a point and can clinch the title with victory over PHC at Bernard Park next Saturday.

“Basically it’s another cup final for us,” Thompson said.

“It was a must win for us before today and now it’s a must win for them. Really fine margins.”

Village seized early control in the middle of the park and ran through their opponents almost at will, with Harvey a constant threat on the left flank where he was allowed to roam freely.

With the game virtually a one-way contest, Wainwright inevitably put the visitors ahead from the penalty spot after Tuzo was judged to have fouled the striker in the area as he attempted to latch on to Harvey’s cross.

Harvey then went from provider to scorer when he ran on to midfielder Daion Swan-DeSilva’s defence-splitting pass and fired past the exposed Tuzo to double Village’s advantage.

Wainwright grabbed his second of the match with a simple tap in that completed a fluent attack also involving fellow striker Jai Bean and Harvey, who earned a second assist, to send Village into the break with a commanding 3-0 lead.

Social Club’s woes continued after the restart when Tuzo received his marching orders after picking up a second booking.

Despite being at a numerical disadvantage, Social Club were awarded a penalty when Village goalkeeper Bell fouled defender Jaki-da Richardson in the area but were unable to capitalise as Parris’s effort from 12 yards was comfortably saved.

Village finally made their one-man advantage count when Social Club substitute goalkeeper Casey Hardtman parried Swan-DeSilva’s initial shot and Harvey pounced on the loose ball from close range to make it 4-0.

Substitute Smith then got the final touch to a high ball played into the box to complete the rout.

“It was disappointing. We didn’t execute the game plan and the focus wasn’t there,” Social Club coach Michael Smith said.

“We knew what Village bring. They are organised, they are well coached and are fighting for the league, so we knew we had to put in a solid performance, and we didn’t.

“It’s as simple as that. They were the better team.”

SCORERS

North Village: Wainwright 6, 24; Harvey 10, 68; Smith (sub) 83

TEAMS

Young Men's Social Club (4-4-2): S Tuzo 5 – Z Hendrickson 5 (sub: C Hardtman, 60min 5), C Woolridge 5, R Parris 5, J Richardson 5 – B Swan 5 (sub: K Smith, 70 5), A Gardner 5, J Johnson 5 (sub: R Clacken, 70 5), G Butterfield 5 – J Hardtman 5, D Jones Jr 5. Substitutes not used: K Butterfield, R Evans, M Wilson. Booked: Tuzo, Richardson. Sent off: Tuzo

North Village (3-5-2): D Bell 8 – K Knights 7, T Wilson 7 (sub: T Ming, 75), T Williams 7 – J Harvey 8 (sub: J Outerbridge, 70 6), L Evans 7, L Steede 7, D Swan-DeSilva 7, K Harrison 7 (sub: V Perinchief, 70 6)- J Bean 7 (sub: P Smith, 75), D Wainwright 8 (sub: A DeShield-Tankard, 70 6). Substitutes not used: J Smith- DeShields, T Bean. Booked: Bell.

Referee: S Maybury.