North Village 3

Devonshire Colts 2

The sign in the Village fortress that reads 'Nothing is impossible' perhaps best summed up Rams' courageous fight-back at Bernard Park yesterday.

Trailing 2-1 at the half to an Aljame Zuill brace, skipper Ralph Bean Jr. and midfield wonder Keith Jennings netted two unanswered goals in the space of six minutes to complete Rams' second-half revival in a highly-charged match that could have gone either way.

In truth it was a victory Rams thoroughly deserved as they were, for longer spells, the better team on the day. That they were pushed to the brink of a second league loss owed much to Colts' never-say-die approach - and the clinical finishing of Zuill that perhaps defined the veteran poacher's career.

College kid Keishan Bean gave Rams a dream start when he scored with a glancing header after threatening earlier with a thunderous half volley on the turn that might have loosened a few screws on the bar.

But after catching their second breeze, Colts came roaring back with the opportunistic Zuill bagging a superb brace against the run of play to turn this Premier Division encounter on its head.

The veteran striker brought Colts back on even terms when he lobbed home from 25 yards out after an attempted clearance ricocheted invitingly in his path.

Both teams continued to swap blows at opposite ends but it was Colts who would land a crushing left hook that sent Rams crashing to the canvass right on the stroke of halftime when Zuill headed home at the back post to leave the Village faithful completely stunned.

Yet even with their noses bloodied, it always seemed only a matter of time before Village would regroup and begin picking up the pieces. With Colts throwing numbers behind the ball in an all-out effort to cling to their slim lead after the break, Rams piled on the pressure and should have drawn level when referee Lyndon Raynor awarded a disputed penalty for a handball in the box.

The Rams faithful were in celebration mode as the usually reliable Ralph Bean Jr. stepped up to take the spotkick. But Colts' custodian proved equal to the task, guessing right in diving to his left to keep his team on course for what would've been another upset victory over the Red Army.

Bean, however, went from villain to hero ten-minutes later when he kept his calm under pressure and drilled a low shot past his namesake to throw the match wide open.

Both teams continued to chisel away in search of the winner. But just when it appeared as though nothing would separate them 'keeper Bean failed to collect cleanly and an alert Jennings pounced to deliver the coup de grace from point-blank range.

North Village: J.Williams, J.Boyles, K.Dill, M.Hansey, D.Tankard, D.Degraff (J.Jennings, 70 mins), K.Jennings, T.Manders, V.Tankard (T.Burgess, 55 mins), K.Bean, R.Bean (capt).

Devonshire Colts: K.Bean, J.Williams, J.Butterfield, S.Perinchief (S.Burgess, 74 mins), J.Darrell (P.Anderson, 79 mins), D.Williams (S.Waldron, 26 mins), W.Ming, Q.Aberdeen, C.Hill, R.Nesbitt, A.Zuill (capt).

Yellow cards: K.Jennings (Village); R.Nesbitt, S.Waldron (Colts)

Referee: Lyndon Raynor

Men of the match: T.Manders (Village); A.Zuill (Colts)

¿In yesterday's other Premier Division fixture, defending champions Devonshire Cougars crushed Ireland Rangers 5-1 at Malabar.