Robin Hood 5

Southampton Rangers 1

Two goals from Nathan Peskett helped Robin Hood to a convincing 5-1 victory over ten-man Southampton Rangers in yesterday’s Premier Division at Goose Gosling Field.

Hood, who were beaten 3-0 at home by PHC last week, remain second in the table, nine points behind runaway leaders Dandy Town, who defeated Zebras 2-0 yesterday.

Kyle Lightbourne’s side were a goal up before Sean Perinchief, the Rangers goalkeeper, was sent off after Ereico Outerbridge opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with a header after good work by Antwan Russell.

Rangers woes worsened when Perinchief was dismissed in the 27th minute for deliberate handball outside the box, with Hood extending their lead shortly after when Nathan Peskett scored directly from a free kick.

Peskett, who was being deployed as a central striker, then added his second in the 34th minute with a tap in from a rebound to put Hood well in control at half-time.

Soon after the restart, Hood scored a fourth when Antwan Russell crashed home a powerful strike from distance beyond Akale Bean, the makeshift goalkeeper.

Firmly in the ascendancy, Hood took their foot of the gas after Russell’s goal, with Rangers enjoying moments of attacking joy themselves, although rarely troubling goalkeeper Simons.

They did, however, pull a goal back in the 60th minute when Keith Jennings, their player-coach, crashed home a free kick from just inside of the box.

Rangers continued to press forward despite their numerical disadvantage and almost reduced the deficit further when Keedai Astwood broke free and hit a low shot that struck the outside of Simons’s right-hand post before bouncing clear of danger.

The home side reclaimed control of the match with 20 minutes remaining with substitute striker Mackih McGowan missing two good opportunities, his first being well saved by Bean before heading over from a flighted ball from Russell, who had dropped deep.

Hood had the final say, though, with substitute striker Tyriko Williams supplying a cool finish in the 91st minute.

Kyle Lightbourne, the Robin Hood coach, said he was delighted that his team returned to winning ways and thought their performance was a convincing one.

“It was a lot better than last week, albeit against different opposition,” Lightbourne said.

“Playing against ten men obviously made things easier but we seemed to dip off the tempo after scoring our fourth goal and allowed Rangers to have a bit of a spell.”

Lightbourne believes Town cannot be caught with six matches of the season left but challenged his team to finish the season strongly.

“I’ve challenged the team to pick up more points from the second half of the season than they did in the first half,” Lightbourne said.

“I don’t think Dandy Town can be caught now, but I’m just challenging my players to carry on this momentum for the rest of the season.”

Scorers

Robin Hood (Outerbridge 23, Peskett 31, 34, Russell 48, Williams 91)

Southampton Rangers (Jennings 60)

Robin Hood (4-3-3): J Simons — P Froncioni, J Pereira, C Fosker, J Bather — D Andrade, A Russell, A Nelson — T Dill (sub: T Williams, 29), N Peskett (sub: M McGowan, 75), E Outerbridge (sub: A Ivo, 67). Substitutes not used: J Titterton, C Boyce, M Thomas, D Cox. Booked: Bather.

Southampton Rangers (4-4-2): S Perinchief — A Raynor, J Dyer, K Astwood, K Tucker — K Jennings, A Bean, A Rocker, K Simmons — V Perinchief (sub: S Swan, 62min), Stoneham. Substitute not used: J Hill. Booked: Jennings, Swan. Sent off: Perinchief.

Referee: L Raynor.