Devonshire Cougars 3

Southampton Rangers 2

Devonshire Cougars skipper Kwame Steede breathed a huge sigh of relief after helping the league leaders complete a remarkable comeback from a two-goal deficit before a large gathering at the Den yesterday.

The Bermuda international supplied the cross that lead to Cougars' 82nd minute equaliser – scored by younger sibling Mark Steede – and two minutes later nodded his team's winner that left Rangers completely gutted.

Earlier Steede's cousin, Tumani Steede, scored from a setpiece to haul his team back into the match after they fell behind to a Rohaan Simons brace inside ten minutes that gave the visitors a shock start.

Cougars' seventh league win of the season keeps them ahead by a solitary point of nearest rivals Dandy Town with Boulevard a further point off the pace in third place with three matches remaining in the 2008-09 campaign.

"With other teams chasing after us it's important we get as many points as possible and this win for us today was big," said skipper Steede afterwards.

Though relieved at the end of an absorbing 90 minutes of attacking football, Steede said he never doubted his team's ability to pick up the pieces and bounce back from the poor start.

"Rangers worked hard for their two goals and you have to credit them for that. But I thought both of their goals came against the run of play and as soon as we scored our first goal I knew we would come back into the game," he added.

In the final analysis, Rangers might have felt hard done by for not capitalising on more of their chances in a first half when they were clearly the better side.

Cougars were static at best in defence and could not find an answer to the pace of Simons who demonstrated yet again why he is touted as one of the deadliest finishers in the local game when he spectacularly volleyed the visitors into the lead on 15 minutes.

Cougars 'keeper Ricardo Brangman's goalkick was headed back by Rangers midfielder Keemo Smith and Simons beat last man Ijahmon Mallory in a foot race to the loose ball before smashing it past the exposed goalie into the roof of the net.

Simons' superb strike dropped Cougars to the canvas and before the dust had settled they dug themselves in a deeper hole as Rangers doubled their lead. This time miscommunication between 'keeper Brangman and defender Mallory left the wily Simons with the easiest of tasks of slotting the ball into an empty net, much to the jubilation of his team's loyal following.

Rangers, though, eventually paid a heavy price for wasting a precious free-kick inside the box and midfielder Jermaine Dill's miss from close range as Tumani Steede scored from an innocuous cornerkick to signal game on.

Having been tossed a lifeline, Cougars called for the heavy artillery and bombarded the Rangers defence in search of all the important equaliser which finally arrived minutes from full-time when sub Mark Steede nodded home his brother's probbing cross to send his team's supporters into ecstacy.

And before Rangers could dust themselves off and regroup, Kwame Steede rose at the back post to powerfully head home Darius Cox's slanted free kick to preserve his team's slim lead at the top of the standings.

Devonshire Cougars: R.Brangman, D.Cox, I.Mallory, J.Butterfield, T.Steede, M.Steede, R.Robinson, K.Steede), L.Brangman (T.Smith, 72 mins), Z.White (K.Franks, 35 mins), M.Smith (M.Steede, 69 mins).

Southampton Rangers: J.Smith, K.Tucker (capt), D.Charles, O.Hart, A.Rocker (J.Bean, 67 mins), J.Charles, K.Simmons (T.Wilkinson, 69 mins), J.Dill, K.Smith, M.Williams, R.Simons (R.Lowe, 83 mins).

Booked: R.Brangman, T.Steede, K.Franks (Cougars); O.Hart (Rangers).

Man of the match: K.Steede (Cougars).

Referee: Anthony Francis.