Good things come to those who wait.

This was certainly the case for Shayne Hollis, the North Village forward, whose patience finally paid dividends in his team’s triumph over Boulevard at Police Field at the weekend.

Hollis opened his season’s account in spectacular fashion by, not only notching the first hat-trick of the Premier Division campaign, but also accounting for all of Village’s goals in the hard-fought 4-2 victory.

The diminutive striker was virtually unstoppable with his dribbling skills and marksmanship to keep Boulevard’s defence on their toes throughout an evenly-fought contest.

Hollis completed his hat-trick inside of 30 minutes and added a fourth from the penalty spot late in second-half stoppage time after team-mate Pierre Smith was fouled in the box.

The player failed to hit the target in Village’s first two outings of the season in the Dudley Eve Trophy but would not be denied on this occasion as he put Boulevard to the sword with a ruthless display of finishing.

“It’s all about patience and I knew my time would come,” Hollis said. “I just went out there and kept working hard, like I have been all season, and got my reward.”

Devarr Boyles, the Village coach, was delighted Hollis finally got off the mark.

“We were hoping he was going to score because all the players in our top positions, as far as strikers, have scored and he was the last one and so he was due,” Boyles said.

With better fortune, Hollis might have come away with a double hat-trick after hitting the crossbar twice either side of the interval.

“It was unlucky,” the former Hamilton Parish player said. “But this is more for the team, and I’m just glad we got the three points.

“We didn’t play as good as we expected to. But we got the three points, which is all that matters.”

Hollis admitted that Boulevard, who took the lead in the second minute through Ian Coke, were a tough nut to crack.

“Boulevard were not as easy as we thought,” he said. “They are a team that have a lot of heart that never stops fighting. They just keep coming at you, and so we did well to get three points against them.”

In terms of personal performance, Hollis suggested that the best is yet to come.

“I wouldn’t say I had a good performance,” he said. “I scored a few goals, but as far as my performance there’s always room for improvement.”

Village are off to one of their best starts to a season in recent memory.

Boyles’s charges are unbeaten in three outings so far, banging in 15 goals and conceding only three.

Asked what his team’s season expectations were, Hollis said: “We don’t have any expectations. We are just going to work hard one game at a time and let the rest take care of itself.”

• Sunday’s game between Flanagan’s Onions and Somerset Trojans, which was postponed due a lack of officials, will now be played tomorrow night at Goose Gosling Field at 9pm.

The match was one of two that fell foul of the island’s referee shortage, with Somerset Eagles and Devonshire Colts also having their game at White Hill Field postponed.

That match has been moved to Sunday, October 16, at the same venue at 3pm.