Drewonde Bascome’s penalty earned Devonshire Cougars maximum points in a hard-fought contest at Devonshire Recreation Club last night.

Cougars forward converted in the 60th minute after being hacked down in the box by Jamel Hill, the Rangers defender, as he sped towards goal.

The scoreline flattered Rangers as the home side dominated possession and created enough chances with their slick passing game to come away with a wider margin of victory.

But wayward shooting and a poor first touch in the attacking third allowed Rangers to stay in the hunt and they nearly made Cougars pay when Jahkai Dyer, the midfielder, was played through. With only Kioshi Trott, the Cougars goalkeeper, to beat, Dyer took too long teeing up his shot and the chance went begging.

Cougars dictated the tempo from the outset and should have made the points safe by half-time after creating clear-cut chances to break the deadlock.

Bascome failed to get a boot to Darius Cox’s cross, while Domico Coddington’s first touch let him down in the area with only Corey Richardson, the Rangers goalkeeper, to beat.

The away side played most of the opening stanza in their own half but did threaten on a few occasions with the long ball on the break.

Shaki Swan, the Rangers forward, tested Trott with a fierce drive, while Cox nearly deflected a cross into his own goal.

Cougars started the second half with a flurry, Coddington rolling a shot wide of the far post and then having an effort flagged offside.

Bascome also dragged wide of the target after being played through by Jahkee Smith, the Cougars midfielder, while Kijuan Franks, the Cougars defender, had a volley tipped over the bar by Richardson.

Coddington also went close with a fierce drive just moments before Cougars were awarded the game-winning penalty.

Bascome gained possession down Rangers’ left side and dribbled into the box where he was brought down by Hill, who was booked for his transgressions.

After dusting himself off, Bascome calmly stroked the ball into the bottom-right corner as a flat-footed Richardson looked on.

Rangers played with more width and intensity in the second half and, with better finishing, might have turned their fortunes around.

Swan and Ezekiel Stoneham, the Rangers midfielder, both volleyed wide of the upright before Dyer looked a gift horse in the face when he blew his team’s best chance to salvage something from the match.