North Village 3 Paget 1

Jai Bean scored a hat-trick as North Village left it late to secure a spot in the FA Cup semi-final with victory over a resilient Paget Lions at Bernard Park on Saturday night.

After scoring from the penalty spot in the 42nd minute, Bean’s opener was cancelled out by Paget defender Julian Carpenter in the 82nd minute. But the Village forward then struck in the 86th minute and the twelfth minute of added time to ensure the champions are in the hat for the semi-final draw this week.

Village coach Marlon Dill, deputising for regular coach Calvin “Patches” Dill who is overseas, was a relieved man when the final whistle was eventually blown.

“We made it very difficult tonight,” said Dill. “We missed too many opportunities in the first half which only kept Paget in the game. They never gave in and made us play until the end. If we want to defend the trophy, we will need to do better and take our chances.”

Village were the first to adapt to the conditions as a light drizzle met the players when they took to the field.

A defensive mix-up allowed Village striker Jonté Smith to intercept the ball and pull back for Bean to get off a low drive which Paget goalkeeper Shaquille Bean was well positioned to hold on to at his near post. Village then had a slew of misses by Smith, Bean and Knory Scott to keep their opponents in the match.

At the other end, Paget forward Shakir Smith sliced his shot wide after being put through.

Village’s dominance finally paid off as the first half was drawing to a close. A neat flick-on by Amir Dill was raced on to by Scott with Rakeem Deshields in pursuit and the defender tripped Scott from behind with referee Clinton Hayward awarding a penalty. Bean sent the Paget goalkeeper the wrong way to give his team the lead.

Goalscorer Bean had the first two chances as the second half started. First he sliced a Smith cutback wide and then headed a Scott corner inches wide at the back post. Paget continued to search for a goal with captain Diaje Hart slamming a half volley against the upright.

Paget’s never-say-die attitude paid dividends and they found the equaliser when substitute, Bermuda centre-half Julian Carpenter, ventured forward to fire the ball into the net from close range through a maze of players.

The game then see-sawed with both teams in attack mode and searching for a winner. But with the match heading for extra time, Bean popped up with a clinical finish. After receiving the ball in the middle of the park, the forward rode a tackle from behind before hitting a piledriver from 30 yards, which beat his namesake for pace and rattled the back of the net.

Paget had the ball in back of the net minutes later but the effort was ruled out for offside before Village captain goalkeeper Detre Bell had to be at his best to stretch full-length to punch away a curling cross. Seke Spence assisted in protecting his team’s lead when he cleared off the line after Bell dropped a Shakir Smith inswinging corner.

Village defender Tah-Mi Williams was sent off in the 89th minute for foul and abusive language towards the referee

With time ticking down, the Paget goalkeeper went forward in the hopes of scoring from a corner but the Village defence would clear the ball upfield and Bean raced from his own half, leaving Deshields in his wake, to blast the ball into an empty net with the last kick of the game.

SCORERS

North Village: Bean 42 pen, 86, 90 + 12

Paget: J Carpenter 82

Teams:

North Village (3-5-2): D Bell 7 — J Harvey 6, T Fray 6, T Williams 5 — S Spence 6, J Outerbridge 6, L Steede 6, K Scott 7 (sub: P Smith, 89min), A Dill 5 (sub: M Paynter, 73) (sub: T Tucker, 89) — J Bean 8, J Smith 7. Substitutes not used: K Knights, J Hayward, K Cann. Booked: Harvey, Bell. Sent Off: Williams.

Paget Lions (4-2-3-1): S Bean 6 — N Carpenter 6, D Rawlins 6, R Deshields 6, T Knights 6 — T Gibbons 6, A Lee 6 (sub: R Russell, 78) — S Smith 7, D Hart 6, K Richardson (sub: T Davis, 66 5) — A Butterfield 5 (sub: J Carpenter, 55 6). Substitutes not used: J Stovel, K Leverock, O Deshields, J Morrissey.

Referee: C Hayward