North Village 2 Paget 0

Jai Bean opened his scoring account with two second-half goals as North Village Rams registered a comfortable victory over a well-organised Paget Lions at Bernard Park on Saturday night.

The veteran attacker rode three Paget challenges to combine with Sincere Hall for a fabulous curling finish past Paget stopper Omari Deshields early in the second half before tapping in from a good cross by left back Jordan Outerbridge.

Village head coach Calvin Dill Jr was pleased at how his side kept their composure to break down their opponents.

“We had a solid start,” Dill said. “We knew Paget were going to set up in a low block but we remained patient and got the job done.”

Village dominated territory for large periods and controlled possession against a very passive Paget side. The midfield was top-heavy, with the likes of Remy Coddington and Sincere Hall trying to make things happen.

Village set the early tempo and worked the ball nicely around the Paget defensive third before Owen Botelho leant back too much on his attempt from just outside the box.

The first half followed a very similar pattern to that opening chance, although Village started to lose their spark in possession. Paget were content to stop their forward passing lanes, with the supply to the attacking players often cut out by a solid block.

Paget continued to drop deeper, thus allowing Village to creep up the pitch from every attack. Conversely, this shift did allow the Paget midfield to be assertive with their challenges, knowing they had cover close by.

Village kept their patience throughout the half but only properly worked Paget keeper Omari Deshields on the odd occasion. Che-Kai Caisey started a quick rondo across the Paget final third, which culminated with Hall finding Bean on the top of the box.

Bean turned quickly and whipped an effort towards the near post, but Deshields made a strong reflex save. A few minutes later, Knory Scott threaded a lovely ball into Bean, but Deshields was quick out of his net to save before Paget cleared.

The attacking challenges largely stemmed from lack of trust and speed of thought, especially given the carry-first nature of Hall and Coddington. The former had numerous final balls to make easier chances but tried to be the hero too often in crucial moments. Paget survived with hard work and strong shape to reach the break on terms.

Bean worked his magic straight from the start of the second half, weaving through a few Paget defenders and playing a one-two with former Hull City academy player Hall before banging home his first goal. Just after the hour, London Steede clipped a beautiful pass over the Paget defence and Outerbridge beat the offside trap to control and square for Bean to tap home.

The away side created their most dangerous chance midway through the second half when Antinori Butterfield held up a longer pass by Toby Gibbons and slipped Nelson Carpenter into the left channel. The full-back picked out Shakir Smith in the penalty area and he forced Village keeper Detre Bell to make a smart reflex save at his front post.

Bean had a few chances to complete his hat-trick but failed to adequately test Deshields.

Goalscorers

North Village: Bean 46, 63

TEAMS

North Village: D Bell, K Scott, J Bean, R Coddington, S Hall, J Chapman, O Botelho, J Outerbridge, C Caisey, S Spence, L Steede. Substitutes: T Manders, T Ming, Z Dill, T Tucker, K Knights, A Dill

Paget Lions: O Deshields, D Hart, A Lee, Xion Smith, T Gibbons, Xave Smith, N Carpenter, M Wade, J Carpenter, R Deshields, S Smith. Substitutes: A Russell, N Armstrong, K Richardson, A Buttefrfield, J Morrissey, K Simons.

Referee: K Williams (Trinidad & Tobago)