Boulevard Blazers 1 North Village 2

Needing a win to stay in with a chance of making progress in the Dudley Eve Trophy, North Village came from behind to beat Boulevard Blazers 2-1 in an entertaining match at Devonshire Rec on Sunday night.

Substitute Torque Outerbridge scored the winner in the last minute of normal time after Jordan Outerbridge had drawn Village level just three minutes after Ernest Trott had put Boulevard ahead in the 34th minute.

Village started with more urgency then their crosstown rivals and dominated the opening half hour. A perfectly floated cross to the back post from Khimo Harrison found Jordan Outerbridge running from deep, but he miscued his volley when well positioned. Shortly after, Seke Spence blasted Amir Dill’s corner over the top as Village searched for the opening goal.

However, it was Boulevard who scored first against the run of play, when Jah Zion Talbot-Thomas played an inch-perfect through ball for captain Ernest Trott to run on to before beating the onrushing Village captain, goalkeeper Detre Bell, with a low drive into the bottom left corner.

This lead was short-lived as Village responded quickly through Jordan Outerbridge’s simple tap-in after London Steede played a ball into his path to leave the match level going into the break.

Both teams upped the tempo when the second half started. A quick release from Bell found Jordan Outerbridge, who played inside to substitute Ian Simmons but he would blast over the top. At the other end, Trott headed wide from a Darius Cox floating corner.

Boulevard nearly took the lead when Kenyade McQueen snaked his way into the Village box with Doreiko Walker getting on to the end of his pass before hitting a firm drive straight at Bell.

Decisive and timely tackles from central defenders Darius Cox and Cole Summers kept Boulevard in contention throughout the match as Village continued to apply the pressure but the stubborn rearguard could not do anything about the winning goal.

Heading into the last minute, Outerbridge picked up a loose ball after Ian Simmons was tackled outside of the area and dribbled before hitting a low drive, which squeezed between goalkeeper DeAz Chambers and his near post to break the hearts of a spirited Boulevard outfit.

Village and Boulevard now sit level on three points in Group A, with Dandy Town topping the group on six points, with one game left to play.

Scorers

Boulevard: Trott 34

North Village: J Outerbridge 37, T Outerbridge 89

Teams

Boulevard (4-2-3-1): D Chambers 5 ― V Chambers 5, C Summers 6, D Cox 6, K Astwood 6 ― N Smith 5, N Daley 5 (sub: K McQueen, 63min 6) ― K Blyden 5, E Trott 6, D Walker 5 ― J Talbot Thomas 5. Substitutes not used: A Carvalho, Y Darrell, A Famous, Z Symonds, C Thompson. Booked: Summer

North Village (4-1-4-1): D Bell 5 ― J Harvey 5, Q Outerbridge 5, R Sampson 5 (sub: K Cann, 68 5), K Harrison 6 ― S Spence 5 ― J Outerbridge 6, L Steede 6 (sub: T Williams, 63 5), C Caisey 5, A Dill 5 (sub: T Outerbridge, 77 7) ― P Smith 6 (sub: I Simmons 63 6). Substitutes not used: T Tucker.

Referee: D Jackson