Boulevard 6 Southampton 0

Boulevard were ruthless in attack in the second half as they dispatched a totally outmanned and outmatched Southampton Rangers at Police Field yesterday.

The margin of victory could have been greater had Boulevard cashed in on their plethora of scoring opportunities in the second half.

It would be justified to assume that Rangers would struggle on the day as they only had one substitute on the bench.

Their struggles would be confirmed when Anthony Rocker, the Rangers midfielder, received his marching orders after two bookable offences.

Rocker’s first booking came in the 37th minute and his red card a minute before half-time. With Rocker’s exit, it would be all downhill for Rangers for the remainder of the afternoon as they struggled to muster any offensive consistency, and were woefully ineffective in testing the Boulevard goalkeeper, Daniel Adams.

Ian Coke, the diminutive but lethal Boulevard striker, got things going when he chased down a long ball. Nearing the touchline, Coke skilfully flicked the ball over the head of his defender and found a lone Aldontae Smith to fire home in the 35th minute.

Given Rangers’ inability to muster much, if any, firepower in the first half and Boulevard’s own ineffectiveness up front, that goal would have been enough for the win.

However, the wheels then came completely off the wagon for Rangers as Boulevard swarmed all over them, scoring five goals in 33 minutes.

Dunya Taylor grabbed the second in the 54th minute when he fired his volley into the roof of the net after the Rangers’ defence failed to clear the cross.

Smith notched his second and the team’s third in the 62nd minute with a beautiful glancing header, courtesy of a deep cross from Jahleel Crockwell on the right flank. Jason Smith, the Rangers goalkeeper, was able to get a hand on Smith’s header, but the ball nestled just inside the left post.

In the 75th minute, Coke split the defence after a long run down the middle. Bearing down on goal, he squeezed off a shot that the goalkeeper saved. The ball rebounded to Sergio Robinson who fired into an empty net with Smith still sprawled on the turf after saving Coke’s initial blast.

It was only a matter of time before Boulevard scored again. Their fifth strike came in the 85th minute when Mark Smith, who had come on as a substitute two minutes earlier, linked up with Coke.

Again, Coke chased a long pass out of the defence and raced in on goal. Coke stymied the Rangers defender just long enough, to lay off a pass that Smith wasted no time blasting past the Rangers goalkeeper from close range.

Rangers had no answer to the marauding Boulevard and could only watch helplessly when Coke latched onto a long ball up the middle in the 87th minute. Coke thumped the ball into the back of the net to compete the rout.