North Village 1

Southampton Rangers 1

(Village win 3-2 aet)

North Village lifted the Friendship Trophy after a thrilling extra-time victory over Southampton Rangers during an afternoon of high drama at the National Sports Centre.

Three sendings off, two penalties and an added time equaliser, not to mention the ugly scenes that erupted in the stands to slightly mar an otherwise absorbing encounter.

There were almost enough twists and turns to rival the last time these teams met in the Friendship final in 1978, when the majority of Rangers' team stormed off the pitch in protest against a controversial penalty decision.

There was certainly no shortage of theatre in yesterday's showpiece final with Village's workaholic midfielder Jamaul Boyles cancelling out Kamen Tucker's first-minute penalty, deep into added time.

With the momentum firmly in the Rams' favour, they then struck twice through substitutes Tyrell Burgess and Vernon Tankard before another Tucker penalty gave Rangers a glimmer of hope before the end of extra-time.

Village's Pierre Smith was dismissed in the second half for dangerous play while team-mate Sean Fubler received a second yellow card in extra time.

Jahni Bean was also sent off for Rangers for threatening behaviour towards referee Anthony Francis.

Rangers had looked set for a memorable cup final win before Boyles' last-gasp equaliser broke their hearts.

The West Enders were leading for almost the entire match after Tucker converted from the spot following Thomas Watson's mistimed tackle on Keemo Smith just seconds after the kick-off.

Village created sufficient chances to win the game before extra time with skipper Sammy DeGraff missing an absolute sitter and the out-of-sorts Jason Lee squirting a good opportunity wide.

Rangers, however, should have put the game out of reach moments before Boyles' leveller but Morricko Iris shot straight at goalkeeper Jason Williams when clean through

"I missed a really great chance," said DeGraff. "I was guilty of thinking the ball was in the net before I even hit it.

"In the end I think our late goal gave us the psychological advantage going into extra-time. It gave us the belief we could go on and win."

Disappointingly, the on-field action almost resembled a sideshow during the first period of extra time with a number of scuffles breaking out between spectators sitting in the Rangers section of supporters.

Eventually the distasteful scenes simmered down and the football once again became the main event with Village by now in the ascendancy.

The introduction of surprise substitute Tyrell Burgess midway through the second-half certainly gave them another dimension in attack. Despite having not played a competitive match since being released by Vancouver Whitecaps, Burgess showed no signs of ring rust and rose above some static defenders to head Village into the lead in the second period of extra time.

Vernon Tankard then added a third with a rebound after Ralph Bean's effort had been well saved by Rangers goalkeeper Jason Smith. Tankard's goal should have ensured Village a stress-free finale but Fubler's late challenge on Keemo Smith allowed Tucker to score his second from the penalty spot. Rangers skipper Kemon Simmons admitted that Boyles' equaliser had been the turning point of the match.

"We were leading for so long so losing is really hard to take," he said. "We had it in the bag but let it slip away. We were just a few seconds away from victory but we switched off, lost our concentration and got punished.

"I'm still very proud of my team despite the defeat. Village deserved the win though."

Village coach Shaun Goater praised his players for their fighting spirit but was annoyed they had thrown Rangers a lifeline after going 3-1 up.

"I was disappointed with the way we let them back into the game at 3-1 to gave them a glimmer of hope, that was really poor by us," said Goater.

"But we're delighted to win another trophy and it's been a great season for us.

"I feel as though this team is developing nicely."

North Village: J.Williams, T.Watson, D.Tankard, K.Dill, S.Fubler, J.Boyles, J.Briers, S.DeGraff, J.Lee, R.Bean, P.Smith

Substitutes not used: T.Fray, T.Outerbridge, J.Sousa, Z.Hendrickson

Yellow cards: J.Lee,

Red cards: P.Smith, S.Fubler

Goals: Boyles, 93, Burgess, 109, Tankard, 115

Southampton Rangers: J.Smith, M.Williams, J.Charles, K.Simmons, K.Tucker, M.Iris, D.Russell, D.Charles, T.Brown (J.Dill, 71), K.Smith, V.Perinchief (J.Bean, 85)

Substitutes not used: K.Symonds, J.Caisey, J.Smith

Red cards: J.Bean

Goals: Tucker, 1, 116

Referee: A.Francis

Man of the match: J.Boyles (Village)