Boulevard Blazers 3

Somerset Trojans 5

Boulevard’s impressive revival continued at Southampton Oval yesterday where they put a lethargic Southampton Rangers to the sword.

Striker Ian Coke bagged his ninth and tenth goals of the season while further tallies from Aldonte Smith, TiaeVince Douglas and Maquel Tankard put the game well beyond the reach of a Rangers side that paid the price for some poor defending.

Shaki Swan came on as a substitute late in the second half to score the home side’s consolation.

Coke, who has been one of the catalysts for his team’s remarkable turnaround of late after a poor start to the league campaign, was unfortunate not to notch a second hat-trick in as many matches and third of the season when he struck the woodwork early on.

Boulevard jumped two places in the table from eighth to sixth with this emphatic victory, their third in the league this season, while Rangers remain in the relegation zone — two points ahead of rock-bottom Hamilton Parish.

Rangers pressed from the start and applied pressure in search of an early breakthrough.

However, the momentum shifted Boulevard’s way when they scored on their first attack in the second minute.

Coke’s angled shot ricocheted off the near post, leaving the unmarked Aldonte Smith, the Boulevard winger, with the simple task of slotting into an empty net at the far post.

The early breakthrough sent the visiting side’s confidence soaring and they continued to stretch the home side with some excellent ball movement.

Douglas nearly doubled Boulevard’s lead when he sidefooted over the bar under pressure after Keemo Smith, the Boulevard player-coach, put the winger in the clear with a pass from midfield.

Dunn-Ya Taylor, the Boulevard midfielder, then volleyed over the bar after some good work down the right channel by Aldonte Smith.

Rangers’ best chance of the first half arrived during a goalmouth scramble that Boulevard survived while midfielder Ezekiel Stoneham delivered an inviting cross into the box that went untouched by two team-mates.

These half chances came back to haunt Rangers as Coke notched his first goal of the game after beating Sean Perinchief, the Rangers goalkeeper, with an angled drive just inside of the penalty area.

Taylor went close with a glancing header before Tankard, who put in a good shift at left back, squeezed Aldonte Smith’s pass between a phalanx of legs to give Boulevard a commanding 3-0 lead at the half.

The visiting side picked up where they left off in the first half when Douglas put the result further beyond doubt after tapping in Coke’s rebound at the far post in the 48th minute.

Coke grabbed his second when Perinchief’s goal kick was headed back in Rangers’ territory where the diminutive striker gained possession and chipped the advancing goalkeeper with precision to make it 5-0.

Swan pulled one back for Rangers after firing in a pass from fellow substitute Keedai Astwood nine minutes from time.