Dandy Town 3

Devonshire Colts 1

A brace from Carlos Smith guided Dandy Town to a highly entertaining 3-1 victory over Devonshire Colts at St. John's Field as the home team scored all four goals in the match, including an own goal by defender David Signor which briefly pulled Colts back into the match.

Raymond Beach scored Town's third goal to put the match beyond doubt and jump the side to second in the league.

The crowd didn't have to wait long for the opening goal, courtesy of a Lionel Furbert corner, which found Smith all alone at the back post in the eighth minute.

Smith had the simplest of tasks, slamming the ball into the roof of the net to make it 1-0.

Colts had their fair share of chances with Philip Anderson having their best effort of the first half, only to skew his shot just wide of the Town goal.

And the visitors came out of the changing room an inspired side that wanted to claw their way back into the match.

Willis Ming had an effort come off the crossbar that at one point seemed destined for the back of the net.

However, without blinking an eye, Smith made it 2-0 in the 51st minute with a classic counter-attack, catching the Colts players holding their heads in agony after the previous play.

Smith was the recipient of the Ming rebound and proceeded to run the length of the field, leaving a host of opponents in his wake.

A delicate one-two pass with Heys Wolffe sprung Smith into the penalty area and he made no mistake from six yards.

The match was then turned on its heels in the 55th minute when Signor turned in a Colts corner at the near post to give the visitors some hope.

And Colts went searching for the all-important equaliser that would have been a fair reward for their tireless work.

However, as they threw men forward, holes appeared at the back and Beach took full advantage of this in the 82nd minute, placing his shot past Sean Perinchief to make it 3-1.

In the end, three points was held onto by Dandy Town with Colts leaving with nothing to show besides pride and heart.

"We started off a bit shaky but we got the result that will keep us in touch with the leaders," said skipper Ernest Signor. "The early goal settled us down a bit and that is what we need from the outset from our strikers.

"The strikers have to put their chances away, especially the early ones away and that's what we have been telling them.

"They applied pressure in the second half but we absorbed what they threw at us and got the result that was needed.

"The key was not to panic, which is what we didn't do and in the end we got the three points."

Devonshire Colts: S. Perinchief, J. Butterfield, E. Wilson, W. Ming, M. WIlliams, O. Ray, P. Anderson, K. Jones, Q. Aberdeen, B. Robinson, K. Hollis

Dandy Town: E. Signor, D. Signor, K. Butterfield, M. Campbell, L. Furbert, C. Smith, S. Furbert (sub: L. Tucker, 72), G. Dickinson, H. Wolffe, R. Beach

Booked: Ray (Colts), Signor, Campbell (Town).

Referee: Ronue Cann

Man of the Match: C. Smith (D. Town), O. Ray (D. Colts)