Robin Hood 2 St David’s 0

Premier Division new boys Robin Hood made a winning start to life in the top flight after beating St David’s at BAA Field on Saturday night.

Both Hood’s goals came during the second half with former Boulevard man Aaron Nelson breaking the deadlock on 65 minutes after finishing off a right wing cross from David Outerbridge.

Their second, a carbon copy of the opener, saw Outerbridge turn orchestrator again with another low cross from the right which substitute Joshua Crockwell tapped home past St David’s goalkeeper Corey Richardson on 80 minutes.

With matches against some of the league’s so-called heavyweights on the horizon, Hood coach Andrew Bascome admitted it was crucial his team posted some early points on the board.

“I’m pleased with the win tonight. We made a nervous start to the game which was understandable, with St David’s trying to hit us on the break,” he said.

“But we remained organised and that allowed us to get more into the match in the second half.

“I thought the first goal was a great move while the second goal took the pressure off us.

“It was important to get the win tonight at home against a team like St David’s because when we play the likes of North Village it’s going to be a very different story.”

St David’s arguably shaded the first period with the hosts’ defence withstanding plenty of early pressure as the visitors looked to capitilise on some opening night Hood nerves.

It was the visitors who came the closest to taking the lead when Tareek Caisey-Webb let fly with a strike from distance, which was tipped on to the crossbar by Hood keeper Jason Simons.

At the other end, Hood were slowly showing glimmers of attacking intent and came within inches of scoring when the lively Outerbridge hammered a diving header against the bar just before half-time.

With Drewonde Bacome pulling their strings in midfield, Hood began to settle down after the break and threatened to score again when a Steven Simons header forced a point-blank save from Corey Richardson.

But Richardson had little chance with Hood’s opener the first Digicel Premier Division goal for the season when an unchecked Nelson steamed into the box and slammed Outerbridge’s driven cross into the net.

Bacome, who grew more ambitious as the game wore on, then released Outerbridge down the right-hand channel with the winger delivering another low cross, which this time was dispatched by Crockwell to secure Hood’s maiden top-flight victory.

Robin Hood: J Simons, T Terceira, Dietz, D Bell (J Crockwell, 72), J Duffy (M Hunt, 81), A Nelson, D Bascome, S Simons, A Williams, D Outerbridge, A Wolffe,

Substitutes not used: T Figureido, M Robinson, R Baker, R Kenneth

Goals: Nelson, 65, Crockwell, 80

St David’s: C Richardson, M Crawford (A Birchall, 64) , K Bean (C Wellman, 75), T Caisey-Webb, T Govia, O Minors, A Cannonier, D Lambert, A Crockwell, L Minors

Substitutes not used: K Ming, S Pitcher, S Boddington,

Bookings: CaiseyWebb

Referee: A Mouchette

Man of the match: Bascome (Hood)