Two agonising second-half misses by Dandy Town forwards Carlos Smith and Darron Simons cost them dearly in this Martonmere Cup clash at BAA last night.

The hearts of Town supporters missed a beat when Smith muffed a sitter, putting his shot wide from just four yards out after 15 seconds of the second half. And Simons' stunning miss from a header after 87 minutes, steering the ball over an empty goal following a pinpoint cross from Seyoum Tuzo, was equally unforgivable.

All of this came after North Village had laid their authority on the game early, taking a decisive 2-0 lead and holding it until the interval.

During a first half which they dominated, Village took a 1-0 lead after just four minutes when Jemeiko Jennings scored from a Michael Hansey cross.

It was no surprise when Village increased their lead after 18 minutes, this time centre-back Irving Romaine outleaping the defence to head home a corner by Jamel Smith.

But fears of a rout subsided as Town slowly found their touch and came close to scoring themselves after 36 minutes, Devarr Boyles whistling a shot wide of the post from 20 yards.

After the break Town began to dictate the proceedings, taking a strong grip that they managed to hold for the majority of the second half.

Following Smith's miss, Town finally opened their account after 58 minutes when midfielder Reggie Tucker cracked the ball home from 14 yards from a cross by Carlos Smith.

Simons' miss near the end wasn't their last setback. With a minute left, Village goalkeeper Gladwin Edness, who was sharp throughout, brilliantly tipped left full-back Dean Bailey's shot over from 18 yards to deny Town the equaliser they so deserved.

North Village: G.Edness; K.Dill, I.Romaine (D.Jennings, 72 mins), M.Hansey; R.Spence, R.Edness (N.Smith, 30 mins), R.Bean; E.Jennings, J.Jennings (S.DeGraffe, 83 mins), J.Smith.

Dandy Town: C.Davis; T.Lewis, D.Ourterbridge, P.Douglas, D.Bailey; D.Boyles, S.Tuzo, R.Tucker (P.Cann, 70 mins); D.Ming, C.Smith, D.Simons.

Referee: Lyndon Raynor.

Men of the match: Michael Hansey (Village); Damon Ming (Dandy Town).