If God is a follower of football, chances are he?s probably a staunch North Village fan.

For yet again rampant Village prevailed at the National Sports Centre yesterday as well-taken goals from Ralph Bean Jr. and Nakia Smith propelled the Reds to victory over Hornets and a seventh Friendship Trophy title overall.

Although the final scoreline would suggest a close affair, in truth Village were always a cut above their opponents in every facet of the game and could have easily won by a wider margin had they capitalised on a plethora of chances.

Village?s teenage striker Keishen Bean gave an ominous sign of things to come when he rattled the woodwork with a fierce drive minutes into the match played in warm, sunny conditions.

However, an inability to convert pressure into goals and a mental lapse at the rear allowed an alert Chris Anderson to nod Hornets back into contention midway through the first half to set the stage for Smith?s and ?keeper Zane Hendrickson?s second-half match-winning heroics.

Smith first capitalised on some clumsy goalkeeping to restore Village?s lead in the 56th minute and then Hendrickson dived to his right to deny Anderson from the penalty spot five minutes from full time to protect his team?s lead and ultimately seal Hornet?s fate.

It was a match Village thoroughly deserved to win after playing the better football for at least two thirds of the tie and one Town seemingly did everything they could to ensure they ended up wearing the bridesmaid?s tag.

Hornets? large banner located on the eastern side of the Sports Centre best summed up their day, ?No guts, no glory?.

Yesterday?s win was Village?s fifth straight over Hornets in a cup final in the past six years, a triumph that inched the Reds closer to a second triple crown championship and first since 1977-78.

?One more hurdle to go and with the team Village have I don?t see any reason why they can?t achieve it,? commented Village icon Ralph Bean Sr afterwards.

Bean was a member of Wendell (Joe) Trott?s triple crown championship team in the late 70s.

?Overall I thought we saw some good football played in good spirit today,? he added. ?And obviously I?m glad to see Village win and I think everybody on this team should be very proud of themselves for the way they played.?

In particular midfield maestro Keith Jennings, the main architect behind many of Village?s attacking raids.

?I?ve just been working hard all season long and trying to give it my all,? Jennings said.

The veteran player was unfortunate on several occasions not to add his name to the scoresheet with some eagle-eyed shots from long range that just barely strayed wide or over the target.

Yet, even Jennings admitted he was shocked to see Hornets storm back against the run of play.

?You have to take your hat off to Town,? he said. ?But I thought we took our foot off the pedal late in the first half and then came back and put them away in the second.?

The beaming smile on Village coach Dwayne (Streaker) Adams spoke volumes.

?This was definitely one of those matches in which we went right at it,? he said. ?I thought it was important we matched their intensity from the outset, and this is something we were able to achieve.?

Throwing caution to the wind, Village quickly removed the venom from Hornets? sting, stamped their authority on the match and grabbed a deserved lead on a good three-man build-up involving Tyrell Burgess, Keishen Bean and Ralph Bean.

Catching Town back-peddling on the counter-attack, Burgess fed Keishen Bean on the left side with a precision pass. Bean then sped past his marker towards the touchline before crossing in the middle for Ralph Bean to neatly apply the finishing touches.

The goal knocked the wind out of Town?s sails, and they were lucky not to have fallen further behind as Village began to hit top stride.

? I thought we allowed a few chances to begging earlier on,? Adams admitted. ?But they had opportunities as well.?

Relying upon the quick break, Anderson headed a Lashun Dill cross wide and then veteran striker Carlos Smith did all the hard work down the left-flank only to see his cross in the middle go completely untouched across goal.

But then Hornets finally struck, Anderson making no mistake with a free header from yards out.

?We strayed slightly away from the game plan and paid the price,? Adams said.

Yet all Hornets? hard work went down the drain midway through the second half when Smith was virtually handed a goal on a silver platter.

Following up on a Dennis Zuill headed back pass, Smith could not believe his luck when ?keeper Cymande Davis spilled the ball in the striker?s path. With ample time and space, Smith calmly slotted the ball in the empty goal and ran off in celebration towards the ?Village wonderland?.

Hornets? afternoon then went from bad to worse when Anderson?s tame penalty kick was easily saved by a fired-up Hendrickson between the posts.

?That was definitely a key save and one that probably saved the match for us,? Village coach Adams added. : Z.Hendrickson, Kev.Jennings, K.Dill, Ken.Jennings (capt), K.Jennings, J.Jennings, R.Bean Jr, D.Edwards, N.Smith, K.Bean (T.Jennings, 75 mins), T.Burgess.: C.Davis, D.Zuill, K.Mundy (G.Gibbons, 70 mins), M.Lowe (capt), O.Steede, A.Thomas (S.Tuzo, 65 mins), M.Parsons, L.Dill, J.Peniston, C.Smith, C.Anderson.: Ken.Jennings (Village); C.Davis, M.Lowe (Town).: Keith Jennings (Village); C.Anderson (Town).: Jose Pimental.