Devonshire Cougars 1

North Village 2

There was an air of disbelief when North Village struck with the last throw of the dice to condemn Devonshire Cougars to a shock opening day defeat.

Not that perennial challengers Village will not be a force to contend with this season. It is just Cougars had been so irresistibly good in their Kwame Steede-inspired cup victories, it was hard to foresee anything other than another triumph.

But Village, making their league bow under coach Elliott Jennings, made a mockery of the form book thanks to their own 'Captain Fantastic', Ralph Bean, who scored twice in a match that seesawed like a footballing version of snakes and ladders.

It really could have gone either way with Cougars wasting a trio of first-half chances before Darius Cox clinically stopped Kaiwon Dill in his tracks with an illegal block towards the end of the first half.

Up stepped Bean, who opened his account with a powerfully placed spot-kick, which keeper Ricardo Brangman very nearly palmed away.

Despite entering the break one down, the Cougars' faithful, out in force at Devonshire Rec., seemed confident their red-hot title favourites would eventually prevail, especially when fit-again Domico Coddington entered the fray.

But not even the ominous presence of the fleet-of-foot winger could distract a focused Village, who looked a completely different team than the one that shipped three goals to Dandy Town a fortnight ago.

Their style is still not in line with Jennings' 'pass and move' mantra, but Village were enjoying the better passages of play and almost doubled their advantage when Sammy DeGraff's near post cross was frantically scrabbled off the line.

They had even managed to subdue man-of-the-moment Steede, with Jennings later revealing the Cougars' captain had featured heavily in their pre-match team talks.

But even when Steede is quiet, danger is never far away and with around ten minutes remaining he notched his ninth goal in four games, connecting with a left-wing cross to send the home fans into raptures.

A chorus of "Ole, Ole, Ole" echoed around the Rec. as the beats of Cougars' band of merry drummers gathered pace, with Village all of a sudden looking a sapped of energy and belief.

It seemed a draw, or a Cougars victory, were the only viable outcomes remaining until Village were awarded a last minute free-kick midway inside the hosts' half.

They could have been forgiven for using the opportunity to eat away valuable seconds, or catch breath from the relentless sun still beating down.

But Bean had other ideas as he steamed in at the back post to head home Keith Jennings' cross, leaving the Cougars players looking lower than the proverbial snake's belly as they trudged off the pitch to the yelps of Village joy.

"Any points we take off Cougars this season are going to be big points and these three are massive," admitted match-winner Bean from a jubilant Village dressing room. "To come to Devonshire Rec. on the first weekend of the season and win shows true character.

"When they equalised we were suddenly hanging on for a point as they were pushing hard for the victory. But we matched their desire and passion and were rewarded with the win. We hadn't played that well in our Martomere Cup games so this result gives us a huge lift and shows we can beat anyone.

"You have to break the ice some time and to score two goals in the first game of the season lifts some weight off my shoulders."

Devonshire Cougars: R.Brangman, D.Cox, J.Butterfield, M.Ijahmon, K.Franks, O.Butterfield (S.Minors 69), A.Gibbon, K.Goddard (C.Casey 55), R.Robinson (D Coddington 45), K.Steede, R.Beach

North Village: Z.Hendrickson, R.Wilson, Kofi.Dill, D.Edwards, J.Boyles (S.Goater 69) S.DeGraff, J.Jennings, K.Jennings, V.Tankard, R.Bean. K.Dill (M.Dill 79).

Yellow card: O.Butterfield (Cougars).

Men of the match: Kofi Dill (Village); J.Butterfield (Cougars).