North Village reaffirmed their status as the team to beat this season with a convincing victory over Boulevard at BAA Field on Saturday night.That the Rams had to play much of the second half with 10 men following debutant Dakai Grant's dismissal made their fifth consecutive win all the more impressive.They were made to work for their victory, though, with Boulevard gutsy performance making a mockery of their ‘so-called' relegation credentials.In the absence of Ralph Bean and Jason Lee, midfielder Kaiwon Dill led the line for Village and gave them the perfect start with a neat finish from Lashun Dill's cross on five minutes.But their lead was short-lived with Blazers frontman Temiko Wilson powering home a back post header past Village goalkeeper Jason Williams on 18 minutes.Stirred but not shaken, Village, once again playing in their pink kits during October's breast cancer awareness month, soon recovered their stride and restored their lead when in-form winger Lashun Dill struck his second goal of the season.The ex-Dandy Town man, enjoying somewhat of a renaissance since joining Village, struck a sizzling effort into the far corner after cutting inside his marker on 20 minutes.After the break the rain continued to pour for sporadic periods not that it dampened Boulevard's fighting spirit with the hosts continuing to ask serious questions of Village's defence.Unfortunately for Blazers, they found Tyrell Burgess in formidable form at the heart of Rams' backline with the customary winger delivering a display that suggested he could solve the national team's defensive crisis against Trinidad on Friday.Strong in the air, quick over the ground and comfortable in possession, Burgess' reading of game enabled him to snuffle out danger but it arrived while his excellent passing range allowed Village to move the ball quickly from defence to attack.Boulevard fell further behind when Pierre Smith curled in a free kick which seemed to catch Boulevard defence's napping although the hosts were thrown a lifeline when Village were reduced to 10 man when Grant received a second yellow card.Despite their numerical disadvantage, Village continued to fashion the best chances and increased their lead when Smith bagged his second with a smart finish from another Lashun Dill centre.Boulevard did manage to give the scoreline an air of respectability when Niko Smith bundled the ball home from a corner in the final minute.Village coach Shaun Goater said he was satisfied with his team's win but admitted to being confused with some of referee Anthony Francis' decisions.“It's another win and it's good to get the season off to a good start,” said Goater. “But there were some refereeing decisions out there today which I really didn't understand.“It was a bit of shame for Dakai Grant to get sent off in his first game; he just made a couple of late challenges.”Goater praised the performance of his ‘flexible friend' Tyrell Burgess who has played in several positions during Goater's Bernard Park reign.“It's true, I've played Tyrell all over the place. I thought he played very well tonight and showed he's more than capable of playing in the centre of defence.”When asked whether he thought Burgess could replace the injured Roger Lee in the national team's upcoming matches against Trinidad and Guyana, Goater replied: “Well, other coaches might see things differently to me but I think it's a role Tyrell can perform very well in.”North Village: J Williams, D Grant, D Tankard, T Burgess (T Wilson, 85), K Dill, J Davis, J Jennings, S DeGraff (M Dill, 77), L Dill (M Saunders, 77), P Smith, K DillSubstitutes not used: J DeShields, N Wilkinson, K ArudaGoals: K Dill, 5, L Dill, 20, Smith, 50, 75Red card: D GrantBoulevard: S Swan, C Hayward, A Gibbons, R Wilson, N Smith, S Furbert (C Trott, 70), A Foggo, D Taylor (S Outerbridge, 66), T Wilson (R Burgess, 82), J Crockwell, M GibbonsSubstitutes not used: Z Stovell, A Fray, R BroadbeltGoals: Wilson, 18, Smith, 90Bookings: A FoggoReferee: A FrancisMan of the match: T Burgess (Village)