North Village 2 Dandy Town 3

David Jones continued his rich vein of form by netting a hat-trick for Dandy Town as they returned to the top of the Premier Division and all but eliminated North Village from the title race on Sunday.

On a muddy Bernard Park pitch, Jones netted the winner in stoppage time to secure a crucial victory, which lifted Jarreau Hayward’s side back to the summit of the table on 34 points.

Village’s goals both came from Jai Bean, with the forward finding the target in the 46th minute and from the penalty spot in the 55th. The champions remain on 25 points, nine points off the top with three matches left to play.

“I fought hard for my hat-trick and we got the win,” Jones told The Royal Gazette.

“It was a scrappy game because of the weather and the conditions, but the boys battled it out. I put away my chances when I got them because it’s always a battle when we play Village.

“It’s now between us, PHC and Devonshire Colts. We need to win the last three to win the league and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Village coach Calvin Dill Jr will now shift his attention to the FA Cup, in which his side are two victories away from retaining the silverware they won last season.

“As far as the title race, Dandy Town are nine points clear of us so this will be a tough battle to get three wins and hope they lose all their matches,” Dill said.

“Their goal difference is good too, so it’s between them, PHC and Colts. That leaves us now with just the FA Cup to defend and that’s where all our focus is going.

“We’re going to still come and play every game like we should be playing, but the FA Cup is our major project right now and pretty much all the energy is going into the FA Cup.”

Dill felt that the match outcome was not a true reflection of how his side played.

“I thought my team played well and the result didn’t match our performance,” the Village coach said.

“Kudos to Town as they were clinical in front of goal. I thought we dominated the game in moments and if we had put our chances away, it would have been a better result for us.

“I think a couple of mistakes in the defence cost us and on the offensive side, we missed too many chances.”

Village made a bright start with Bean’s effort cleared off the line in the sixth minute. Eight minutes later Detre Bell, the Village captain, made a point-blank save to deny Kamali Davis after Che’Kai Caisey had given the ball away.

In the 20th minute, Jordan Outerbridge’s header rattled the upright before Jonté Smith fired the rebound wide.

Town had the lead 12 minutes before the break when Jones showed composure to beat Bell at the far post.

Village brought themselves level a minute after the break as Bean kept his cool to hit the net. The forward then put the home side in front for the first time in the encounter from 12 yards after Caisey was impeded in the box by Yeferson Ramirez.

Jones showed his predatory instincts, swiftly reacting when Bell made an initial save from his close-range attempt and the striker could have completed his hat-trick just after the hour mark only for his header to come off the woodwork.

Smith was presented with a glorious opportunity to restore the Village lead in the 70th minute following a perfect cross from Jordan Outerbridge, but the finish was way off target.

Jones sparked huge celebrations when completing his hat-trick in stoppage time. A free kick whipped in by Town goalkeeper Jahquil Hill was knocked down by Danté Leverock, with the striker taking advantage of hesitation from the Village defence to slot the ball in.

The striker, with seven goals in three matches, is now the joint-leading scorer in the Premier Division alongside Enrique Russell, from PHC. He missed out on the Golden Boot to Paget captain Diaje Hart last season and is not focused on the accolade this time around

“To be honest, I don't really look at the Golden Boot,” the forward said.

“I’d rather win for the team and I score for the team so that we can have wins, that’s what matters.

“I feel the confidence of my team because they believe in me. They put me there and I feel like it comes naturally to me.”

SCORERS

North Village: Bean 46, 55 pen

Dandy Town: Jones 33, 59, 90+1

TEAMS

North Village (4-3-3): D Bell 6 — C Caisey 6 (Q Outerbridge, 85min), K Harrison 6, T Fray 6, J Harvey 6 — T Williams 6, S Spence 6, J Outerbridge 6 — A Dill 6 (sub: P Smith, 85), J Smith 6, J Bean 7. Substitutes not used: Jabari Hayward, Jabri Hayward, T Tucker. Booked: J Outerbridge

Dandy Town (4-3-3): J Hill 6 — L Outerbridge 6, E Moore 6 (sub: D Leverock, 52), Y Ramirez 6, T Webb 6 (sub: E Outerbridge, 78) — D Daniels 6, N Spence 6, T Goater 6 — D Jones 8, K Davis 6 (sub: L Simmons, 75), E Swan 6. Substitutes not used: A Harvey, A Simmons, T Smith, J Johnson. Booked: Webb, Ramirez, Hayward (coach)

Referee: D Parchment (Jamaica).