Devonshire Cougars 3

Flanagan’s Onions 1

Devonshire Cougars came from behind to give new coach Andrew Bascome his first win since rejoining the club at Devonshire Recreation Club last night.

After trailing 1-0 at the half, Cougars scored three unanswered goals in the space of 15 minutes through tallies from Zachary Morris, Derrick Brangman and Machi Battersbee early in the second half to leave Flanagan’s Onions shell-shocked.

Nathan Peskett, the midfielder, put Onions ahead in the tenth minute with a headed goal from a well-executed set-piece.

“I was very pleased with some of the football that we played,” Bascome said.

“Even though we were down 1-0, we still had the belief that we could win if we stayed organised. This win was important for us.”

Cougars applied pressure from the kick-off and should have taken the lead when they were awarded a penalty in the fourth minute after Battersbee was brought down. But Onions were let off the hook when Moses Steede’s spot-kick struck the base of the left upright.

Peskett went close for Onions with a long-rang strike that rattled the woodwork. But the midfielder would not be denied minutes later, rising high above the Cougars defence to nod home a free kick taken by Vince Minors Jr.

At this stage, Onions were the better side, but they nearly paid earlier for not making the most of their ascendancy when Battersbee headed over an open net, much to the disbelief of everyone at the ground.

With half-time looming, Peskett threatened to extend his team’s lead when his free kick from nearly 30 yards fizzed wide with Kioshi Trott, the Cougars goalkeeper, a mere spectator.

Whatever advice Bascome gave his charges at the half did not take long to sink in when play resumed, with Morris, the centre half, beating Dermont O’Sullivan at his near post to draw the teams level in the 50th minute.

Before the dust had settled, Brangman, the Cougars striker, scored the winner 11 minutes later with a neat finish at the near post after getting a boot to a searching cross from Lovintz Tota, the overlapping full back.

O’Sullivan, who took a nasty blow to the chest in the first half, was replaced by Nicholas Moulder after the Brangman goal.

The situation went from bad to worse for Onions, who fell farther in arrears in the 71st minute when Battersbee was left with the simple task of rolling the ball into an empty net after Phil Matthews’s intended header back to goalkeeper Moulder looped over his head.

Both teams created chances down the stretch, with Trott making a string of outstanding saves to keep Onions at bay.

Cougars nearly added a fourth goal in the closing minutes. However, Morris’s close-range effort was cleared off the line.

In the preceding First Division encounter, Wolves blanked BAA Wanderers 2-0. Kyle Brangman put Wolves in front from close range in the tenth minute after BAA failed to clear their lines.

After absorbing considerable pressure, substitute Steven Bremar Jr made the game safe when he fired home from an angle in the 86th minute.