Devonshire Cougars 9 Island Bulls 0

Charmari Burns netted a maiden hat -trick as he and his Devonshire Cougars team-mates made light work of Corona League side Island Bulls in a lopsided FA Cup first round clash at Devonshire Rec last night.

The experienced winger scored twice in the first half and completed his treble shortly after the restart to achieve another personal milestone in his career.

“It’s my first hat-trick and it feels good. It’s been some time coming and it’s about time I rewarded myself,” Burns, who also had two assists, told The Royal Gazette.

“As a team it was a nice run out today and we are glad to move on to the next round and keep the momentum going.

“No disrespect to the opponents but half of their team is pretty much older than the team we have.

“It wasn’t about going out there and just completely embarrassing them but more so just getting a flow back for the game and having fun. That’s what football is about; it’s about having fun and you’re going to get your chances.”

Also among the goals for a rampant Cougars were Christian Albouy (2), substitute Chae Brangman (2), Mosiais Mills and Kydan Browne.

Cougars’ margin of victory could have easily been wider had they not squandered numerous chances when scoring seemed easier, while Bulls goalkeeper Marcus Johnson pulled off a string of brilliant saves.

Making their first ever appearance in the prestigious competition, Bulls made a promising start and went close to scoring with their first and only shot on goal when Gianluca Gibbons was denied by a superb save by Cougars stopper Chazz Knight from a set piece.

The close call jolted the home side who opened their account on their very next possession as Burns nodded in Browne’s inswinging corner at the near post.

Burns then went from scorer to provider when he drew Johnson off his line and squared the ball to unmarked striker Albouy to tap into an empty net

Albouy then helped himself to a second goal in similar fashion after full-back Jahzi Wilson-Butterfield made a brilliant overlapping run down the left flank.

From this point it was never a matter if Cougars would win but rather by how many as their pace and movement left Bulls chasing shadows.

Burns grabbed his second goal of the match after getting on the end of Mills’ long pass to earn Cougars a commanding 4-0 advantage at the break.

The 31-year-old immediately picked up where he left off after the restart when he drilled in substitute Jayori Fox's pass to complete his first hat-trick.

Mills finally got in on the scoring act when he smashed Domico Coddington’s short pass past Johnson from 25-yards before substitute Brangman opened his account when he converted Browne’s pull back inside the box.

Browne then went from provider to scorer after rounding Johnson and slotting into an empty net to make it 8-0.

Brangman then put the icing on Cougars’ emphatic win when he calmly angled a low shot into the far bottom corner on a breakaway.

Cougars ended the game with ten-men as they had no more substitutes to replace Albouy after he pulled up and was unable to continue.

Despite being outclassed, Bulls coach Mateo Donawa said upbeat.

“I think it was a pretty good experience for all of us. It’s our first season in any competition and I don’t think we played too bad,” he said.

“Obviously coming up against one of the better Premier Division sides is tough for us but I think we met the challenge as well as we could have.

“I said to the boys before we kicked off they need to beat us. They are here to beat us so just try to make it difficult for them and I feel like we were able to do that at times.

“Overall I think it was a good experience and hopefully we go again next year in the FA Cup.”

Scorers

Devonshire Cougars: Burns 4, 35, 47, Albouy 8, 34, Brangman (sub) 67, 81, Mills 56, Browne 73

Teams

Devonshire Cougars (4-2-3-1): C Knight 8 — J Wilson — Butterfield 7 (sub: J Fox, 46min 6), Z Simmons 7, M Turner 7, O Smith 6 (sub: J Thomas, 46 6) — M Thomas 8, K Browne 8 — M Mills 7, C Burns 8 (sub: C Brangman, 59 7), D Coddington 6 (sub: L Millett, 59 6) — C Albouy 7

Island Bulls (4-4-2): M Johnson 7 — R Cann 5, R Tyrell 5 (sub: C Hollis, 77), S Perinchief 5, S Crockwell 5 (sub: A Brown, 70 5) — K Wade 5, M Thomas 6, R Lowe 6, G Gibbons 6 (sub: J Santucci, 64 5) — C Robinson 6 (sub: J Hill, 77), S Wild 6 (sub: C Wainwright-Basden, 70 5)

Referee S Maybury