Dandy Town 3

Devonshire Cougars 1

A big game for both teams for wildly varying reasons, it is still too early to say that the result will have a definite impact on where either side finishes the season.

For Dandy Town, the win moves them, temporarily at least, up to third, while defeat leaves Devonshire Cougars deep in trouble just two points off the bottom.

First looks can be deceiving, however, and just five points separates PHC, who are fourth, from last-placed Flanagan’s Onions.

At least Town are heading in the right direction and despite going behind early to Raymond Beach’s opportunistic strike, they always looked like getting back into the game.

Cougars, meanwhile, slumped to their fifth defeat in six games and not for the first time where the masters of their own destruction, even if their performance was better than it has been in recent weeks.

Defensively though they are suspect from just about every angle, and it is entirely possible that the players Andrew Bascome has at his disposal simply are not good enough. Certainly that would explain why Dominique Williams, the central defender, spent most of the evening either out of position or giving the ball away in dangerous areas of the field.

He was not the only culprit, and it would be wrong to lay the blame for a poor defensive display all at Williams’s feet. It was unfortunate, however, that Williams conceded the free kick that allowed Town to get back into the game on the stroke of half-time.

Up until that point, Cougars had been much the better side, playing with a greater sense of urgency and harrying Town to the point of distraction. They took the lead when Kwame Steede rose highest at a corner, headed the ball down and Beach, unmarked and with all the time in the world, fired the ball home from six yards out.

Only a last-ditch block from Korvon Tucker prevented Cougars going further ahead two minutes later when the visiting team cut through the Town defence leaving Beach inches from doubling his tally.

In contrast it took Town more than 40 minutes to muster a shot on goal, and when they did Daniel Johnson, the Cougars goalkeeper, was more than a match for them, pulling off a fine double save to deny Angelo Simmons and Ayshaun Smith just before the break.

How much Johnson could do about the equaliser is open to debate. Williams’s foul gave Ming the chance to swing in a free kick from the left, and Terrance Webb’s outstretched foot did just enough to put Johnson off, and he could only watch as the ball bounced tamely in at his far post.

Town were a different side after the break, and began winning the ball in midfield with greater frequency. Smith, who had a fine game upfront for Town, turned one such battle into his side’s second goal, splitting the defence with a pass that Jahtino Richardson-Martin raced on to, before he was clattered by Johnson inside the area.

Ming made no mistake from the penalty spot and Cougars were always facing an uphill battle from then on. Bascome’s side did regain a little bit of their early energy in the closing stages of the game, but the gaps they left in defence only grew as they chased an equaliser.

Still, the third goal was indicative of their overall performance, and unsurprisingly came from an unnecessary free kick and poor defending in the penalty area. K’wonde Lathan who was running away from goal, was upended by Darius Cox, Ming again swung the ball into the box, and substitute Kevin Hurdle was left completely unmarked to power a header passed Johnson.