North Village 2 Dandy Town 0

Amid non-stop rain and joyous celebrations of a Premier League repeat, North Village's management and players were already sharply focused yesterday on their next league mission - a three-peat.

The Bernard Park team want emulate the feat of Somerset Trojans and Social Club next season and coach Scott Morton is confident his squad have the talent to do so.

"Obviously we're going for the three-peat. We would love to do that so there will be no stopping us from now," declared Morton, shortly after reclaiming the League trophy from Bermuda Football Association (BFA) officials.

Inspirational captain Kevin Jennings and veteran striker Clay Smith echoed similar sentiments, noting they are not content to simply bask in the glory of two successive titles which they achieved with a 2-0 victory at home to Dandy Town.

"We have a great nucleus of players and when we're playing to the best of our ability there's no team on this Island that can play with us. We are sometimes our worst enemy and it's scary for other teams to know that we have room for improvement.

"To win the league back-to-back is great but I can assure the rest of the clubs that we will be coming back next year to try and three-peat," said Smith.

For the moment though Village will savour a hard-fought second championship in which they were chased by Devonshire Cougars to the death. Knowing destiny was in their own hands yesterday - after slipping up with a draw against relegated PHC a fortnight ago - Village made no mistake this time, taking all three points though a draw would have sufficed.

Two first-half strikes settled the issue as driving rain frustrated both teams' progress in the second half with the ball dead-stopping in puddles or spinning awkwardly. There was also the constant spectacle of players sliding and falling upside down in the mud as they battled for possession.

A Kentoine Jennings header opened Village's account on the half-hour as he beat all-comers to a cross from his brother Kevin on the left wing. Scoring was kept among the brothers when, on the stroke of 45 minutes, Keith Jennings smacked home a rebound from point-blank range after an initial shot by Kentoine.

Despite holding Village scoreless in the second half, Town never really looked threatening though Khano Smith's searing pace on the left flank and the introduction of Seyoum Tuzo resulted in some nice build-ups for the visitors. There was also a shot from Kelvon Butterfield that rebounded from an upright as the wet ball skidded under Village keeper Dwayne (Streaker) Adams.

As referee Stuart Crockwell blew the final whistle, celebrations erupted among the faithful pockets of Village fans who braved the horrid weather to see their team's triumph. Hugs, back slaps and champagne awaited the entire squad. Morton was "treated" to a special bath of cold water by his players.

"We worked hard and the victory is sweet," said a jubilant Shervin Dill, president of North Village Community Club. "We've done very well thanks to the long-term commitment of our coaches and players. We had a four-year programme in place and it has come to fruition."

Overcome by emotion and clutching the League trophy, captain Jennings, who has scored and orchestrated some sensational goals this season, was thrilled to be numero uno again.

"Words can't express how I feel. I have played for Village all my life and this has been a long time coming. It's a pleasure to play for this unit and I hope we can do it next year too," said the 29-year-old.

Morton noted that Village's success was hard-earned given an indifferent start to the season which saw them finally come to the fore at the Christmas break.

"My plan after that was to get my senior players to take a leading role as far as using their experience because my young players got me through the first half of the season and I give a lot of credit to them.

"It just shows how much development the club has for 16 and 17-year-olds to be able to carry a senior team half-way so that the experienced players can take it the rest of the way."

The coach singled out schoolboy footballers Jason Davis, Shannon DeShields and Domico Coddington for special praise, stating this junior trio has improved "by leaps and bounds". He also thanked his players for reassuring him that they "had my back" in recent weeks when the pressure was "at times difficult".

"That kind of encouragement from my players made things much easier."

Though denying that Village were "unconquerable", Morton conceded he did not "see too many teams that can compete with us consistently game-to-game".

Village, he said, must therefore seek their own challenges like scoring more of their chances and improving certain aspects of their play.

He too has challenges, he explained, in trying to keep players motivated to be among the starting line-up.

"With the number of players I have I get to use different rotations so every player knows they have to compete for positions, week in and week out."

North Village: D.Adams, S.Deshields (J.Thomas, 72 mins), K.Binns, K.Dill, M.Hansey, Kentoine Jennings (B.Skinner, 74 mins), R.Bean (D.Warren, 60 mins), Keith Jennings, C.Smith, J.Jennings, Kevin Jennings.

Dandy Town: A.Lightbourne, J.Robinson, L.Christopher (S.Tuzo, 60 mins), B.O'Riordan, M.Lowe, K.Smith, K.Butterfield, K.Mundy, C.Smith (B.Harris, 58 mins), J.Tucker (J.Butterfield, 54 mins), K.Hurdle.

Men of the Match: Kevin Jennings (Village); K.Smith (Town).

Booked: K.Binns (Village); B.O'Riordan (Town).

Referee: S.Crockwell.