Devonshire Colts 1

North Village 4

A late consolation goal was the only joy lowly Devonshire Colts got from this Premier Division clash at Police Field yesterday.

Forward Kyle Jones slotted home the spot kick after 76 minutes when referee Anthony Mouchette awarded the bewildered home side a penalty after Devrae Tankard fouled substitute Andre Famous during one of the few isolated raids Colts managed to pull off in the second half.

But nobody would deny that Village thoroughly deserved the emphatic victory against sub-standard opponents who surely must have feared an even greater onslaught after the visitors built a commanding 4-0 lead at the interval thanks to two goals from centre-back Kofi Dill and single tallies from skipper Sammy DeGraff and Jason Lee.

The performance was good enough for Village to prove to their fans that they are very capable of rising above the mediocre and challenging for the league title this season while Colts, struggling with a seemingly lack of self-belief at times, failed to convince anybody that they will prevent a nightmare from unfolding and escape an inevitable relegation plunge.

Dill got Village off to a fine start when he tapped in from close in from a Jemeiko Jennings corner after just 12 minutes.

Colts showed plenty of fighting spirit when they responded by forcing Village goalkeeper Jason Williams to slap away a menacing cross by Mikre Pace and Ryan Purnell sending a crisp 20-yarder inches over the bar after 19 and 20 minutes.

Then after 24 minutes Jones firmly headed a Purnell cross goalward that Williams managed to save.

But this bid by Colts to take some initiative was soon halted with Village coming back into the contest with some explosiveness for the remainder of the half.

After 26 minutes they went 2-0 ahead when midfielder Jonathan Briers crossed to Ralph Bean on the right flank who in turn sent a ball into the middle where skipper DeGraff stroked home from close range.

With the hard-working Jennings dominating in midfield Village took full control and soon it was 3-0 with Briers and Jennings created the opening for Jason Lee to score after slipping through the middle of the jaded defence after 30 minutes.

Five minutes later Bean should have scored but Sean Perinchief in the Colts' goal brilliantly saved his point-blank shot from 10 yards.

Village however were to get that fourth goal by the half as it came from Dill who came from his centre-half position to smartly leap above the defence and head home a free kick by Jennings. Credit to Colts for not lying down for dead when play restarted because within two minutes Kyle Jones placed a fierce shot right into the chest of goalkeeper Jason Williams. But this wasn't a sign of things to come for Colts because Village quickly took the upperhand and dominated the remainder of the half.

However despite their decisive edge Village made too many errors as they approached the penalty area, leaving the defence to finish decent approach work with desperate clearances. Village showed their frustration at times by resorting to make long shorts which sailed either high or wide of the goal.

But victory for the visitors was always a certainty at this stage and even when Colts scored from the penalty it remained smooth sailing for the visiting side.

Devonshire Colts: S.Perinchief, D.Williams, C.Durham, E.Wilkin, T.Foote, C.Trott, M.Piper (M.Christopher, 65 min), L.Symonds, M.Pace (A.Famous, 72 min), K.Jones, R.Purnell (T.Stovell, 72 min).

Substitutes not used: S.Burgess, Z.Darrell, J.Nesbitt.

Yellow cards: C.Durham, D.Williams.

Goals: K.Jones, 76

North Village: J.Williams; T.Watson, K.Dill (M.Swan, 65 min), S.Fubler, D.Tankard, J.Briers, V.Tankard, J.Jennings, R.Bean, S.DeGraff, J.Lee (J.Sousa, 86 min).

Substitutes not used: Z.Hendrickson, T.Fray.

Yellow cards: J.Briers.

Goals: Dill, 12, 44, DeGraff, 26, Lee, 30

Referee: A.Mouchette

Man of the match: J.Jennings (Village).