North Village 4

Flanagan’s Onions 2

North Village Rams produced their best performance of the season in a comfortable victory over Flanagan’s Onions at Bernard Park yesterday.

The home side rode their luck at times and had goalkeeper Troy Hall to thank for keeping them in the game early on.

Ultimately, however, they were too good for a one-dimensional Onions side who had no Plan B in attack when the long ball to Keston Lewis failed to be as effective as normal.

Village had no such issues and could have easily scored twice as many as they did in a second half in which they had the visiting team chasing shadows.

Jahron Dickinson, Takeyhi Walker, and Ralph Bean all got on the score sheet after Tyrell Burgess’s strike moments before half-time had drawn them level.

“I think that’s the best 45 minutes we have played this season,” Bean, the North Village player-coach, said. “We were attacking well, and creating chances which we have struggled to do this season.

“Sometimes you just have to break through the wall, it [can] seem like things are piled against you, things are not going your way.

“I felt like we had [good] performances in the last couple of games and certain things didn’t go our way, and balls hitting the woodwork, but once you break the duck it’s just that much easier.”

Village could have been forgiven for thinking it was going to be another one of those days yesterday, especially after Walker’s cross just three minutes into the game ran across the face of the Flanagan’s goal, eluding Dickinson’s desperate attempt to tap it in.

Falling behind ten minutes later did nothing to improve the home side’s mood, although there was little that Hall could have been done about Pete Robey’s strike from the edge of the Village area.

Lewis forced a couple of fine saves from Hall as Flanagan’s took control, but his continued inability to stay onside meant that the possession the visiting team enjoyed was largely wasted, and Village grew in confidence as the half progressed.

Walker was a threat all afternoon and his floated pass to the back post finally unlocked the Onions defence, allowing Burgess to tap in from little more than a yard out.

The home side should have taken the lead on the stroke of half-time, but having sliced the Onions defence open Dakai Grant fired his effort inches wide.

Village were utterly dominant after the break and ran Flanagan’s ragged, with Keishen Bean, Pierre Smith, Ralph Bean and Dickinson piling forward at will.

Dickinson put his side in front after some good work by Keishen Bean down the right, and Walker spurned an opportunity to make it three moments before doing so with a fine finish after the Onions defence had once again been picked apart.

The home side looked like scoring every time they crossed the halfway line, and Dickinson rattled the crossbar with a rasping effort as Flanagan’s lost their discipline and shape.

Phil Matthews had to clear a Grant effort off the line and Markez Laws almost put the ball into his own net seconds later.

Vincent Minors, the Flanagan’s midfielder, gave his side a brief glimmer of hope with a strike out of nothing, but Ralph Bean’s goal after more good work by the impressive Walker ended any hopes of an unlikely comeback.

The win moves Village into the middle of the Premier Division and with so few points separating the top five teams, a couple of wins can change a season.

The result, for the time being at least, takes the pressure off Ralph Bean whose side struggled in the first half of the season.

“Hopefully we can develop some momentum from this and the way that the victory came also allows us to bring a lot out of it,” Bean said.

“I think we’re on our way, hopefully. North Village is a club with high expectations, so regardless, you’ve always got that pressure of getting results, I got it as a player and so it’s no different as a coach.”