Boulevard squandered a chance to move to the top of the table as they fell victim to the First Division's resident Jekyll and Hyde, North Village.

The equation for the Blazers was simple entering the night -- win and go to first.

A no brainer...the Blazers had not lost in four outings, while unpredictable Village were plummeting, with but a single victory in six matches.

Silently Boulevard had been creeping towards their ultimate target and Saturday was to be a chance to grasp it -- first place.

But not factored in was Village's gritty determination.

It took only 10 minutes for Boulevard's dream to begin fading as Elliott Jennings gave Village the early lead. And three minutes into the second half Jamel Smith further removed doubt when presented a gift chance.

While Boulevard could take solace in the fact that it was they who controlled the lion's share of possession, this provided little tangible reward and showed them not yet to be championship material.

A meagre crowd watched as play started at a high pace, the match just two minutes old when Village's Smith thundered a drive goal-ward from 17 yards which nestled comfortably in the midsection of goalkeeper Mitchell Steede.

The Blazers responded as Dwight Warren slipped behind the left side of the Red Devils' defence, cut in and slid the ball past an advancing Carlyle Crockwell only to have his effort roll agonisingly wide of the upright.

Jennings would make them pay an immediate price. The former Bermuda international striker eluded a poorly constructed offside trap to get on the end of a long clearance and with Steede anchored in `no-man's-land' he easily lobbed the 'keeper to put Village ahead.

Stung by this early setback, Boulevard increased the pressure, storming the Village area in search of an equaliser.

Wayne Richardson, Warren and Stevie Wade each had cracks at Crockwell, but found him equal to the task.

The second half would follow a similar script, with sloppy defending creating problems for the Blazers and joy for Village.

Barely had the match resumed following the interval when Kenneth Darrell was caught in possession deep in his own penalty area.

Darrell's hesitation on the ball allowed Smith to rob him of possession, before easily placing his shot past an exposed Steede.

Again this blow brought the fight out in Boulevard, but this appeared a battle destined to be lost and even though Darrell made up for his miscue, producing some fancy footwork to score in the 57th minute, Village never appeared like surrendering even a point.

Village, despite all their shortcomings, thus moved back into contention for the league title, vaulting from sixth to fourth with 16 points, three less than leaders Dandy Town, two behind Somerset and one less than Boulevard.

North Village: C.Crockwell; I.Romaine, D.Bell, A.Simons, M.Hansey; S.Franks, C.Furbert, D.Robinson; E.Jennings, J.Smith, S.Dill.

Boulevard: M.Steede; D.Boyles, W.Richardson, L.Stevens, A.Caisey; G.Smith, K.Darrell (J.Boyles 59 mins), M.Holdipp (V.Tuzo 69 mins); V.Eve, S.Wade, D.Warren.

Referee: Frank Drayton.

Men of the match: Derek Bell (North Village); Dean Boyles (Boulevard).

Wolves 1 Prospect 2 Prospect defeated Wolves in this make-up Second Division encounter, improving one position in the process.

Goals from Andrew Bissell and Dwayne Leverock (penalty) on either side of the interval were enough to sink Wolves, whose lone reply came from Tori Davis via the penalty spot during the game's dying stages.

The match had long been decided after Bissell put Prospect ahead in the 15th minute, before Leverock scored again in the 60th.

Elliott Jennings