Flanagan’s Onions 0 North Village 1

Shayne Hollis took his goal tally into double figures as he claimed the match-winner in North Village’s victory over Flanagan’s Onions at Goose Gosling Field yesterday.

Hollis has been lethal form this season, grabbing four goals against both Boulevard and Devonshire Colts, and broke the deadlock against Onions in the 65th minute with a close-range finish from a Devrae Tankard cross.

Tankard marauded forward from left back and delivered a hard, low cross in the path of Hollis who smashed the ball home past Stephen Gould, the Onions goalkeeper.

The victory leaves Village level on top with PHC Zebras, with ten points from four games.

Randy Spence, the Village assistant coach, said the team’s focus was to control possession and frustrate their Onions who are still without a win this season.

“We wanted to play a very compact game, a possession game, and try and frustrate Onions — it worked for us,” he said.

“We didn’t want to get frustrated and all nervous and excited. We knew if we struck to the game plan the result would come in the end.”

Spence also praised Hollis for his scoring contribution. “Shayne is on ten goals now and it would be a delight of he good continue his good form,” he said.

“We’ve got a good team spirit and that was an important part of our pre-season work.”

Village, featuring Ralph Bean Jr, their former coach, in midfield for the first time in several seasons, should have doubled their advantage when Keishen Bean blazed over the bar with his left foot from close range. Bean also curled a shot over the bar late on as Onions became more ragged.

Mick Ward, the Onions coach, admitted he was disappointed his side’s display but believed they had enough quality to stay out of relegation trouble.

“I think it was the right results; I don’t think we played that well,” Ward said.

“Towards the end of the first half, I thought we actually started to get into it.

“But we started the second the same way as we started the first and it just wasn’t good enough.

“The quality of our play and the things we’ve been working on in training just wasn’t there.

“It’s frustrating but I think we do have the quality and we just need to gel a bit quicker with the new guys coming in.”