Robin Hood 2 North Village 5

John Barry Nusum, the Robin Hood coach, was left bemoaning his side’s “five minutes of madness” after they suffered a damaging 5-2 defeat at home to North Village on Saturday night.

Hood were looking to move into first place and put pressure on PHC Zebras before their home match against Boulevard yesterday, but came unstuck against a resolute Village.

Nusum’s outfit led 2-1 at the interval but conceded three goals in the space of five minutes at the start of the second half to leave themselves with a mountain to climb.

Keishen Bean struck a hat-trick for the visiting side, having scored their first-half equaliser, while his strike partner Shayne Hollis netted twice.

“We had a deserved 2-1 lead going into the half and then it was five minutes of madness,” said Nusum, who introduced himself as a substitute after Hood fell two goals behind.

“We gave away a silly free kick on top of the box, he [Bean] scores, and then it’s all about the [change of] momentum.”

Hood regained control and dominated possession in the second half, creating several gilt-edged chances, which they failed to convert through a mixture of prolificacy and superb goalkeeping by Tahj Bell.

“We’ve been creating chances all season but not finishing them,” said Nusum, who succeeded Kyle Lightbourne as coach in the summer.

“They created seven chances and scored five of them; we probably had 12 or 13 chances and scored two. That’s the difference: being able to put it in the goal.

“Tahj made some good saves, so I can’t fault all of the chances, but we need to improve our conversion rate.”

Antwan Russell, the Hood striker, gave his side the lead in the 24th minute after heading home a cross from winger Lejuan Simmons.

Bean hit back almost immediately for Village with a header past Hood goalkeeper Jason Simons after being left unmarked.

It did not take Hood long to restore their advantage, though, with Lejuan Simmons beating Bell with a fine strike from the edge of the box on the half-hour mark.

The home side nearly extended their lead moments before the interval when Russell showed great technique to crash a spectacular volley against the crossbar.

Hood made a strangely lethargic start to the second period, conceding a silly free kick on the edge of the area, which Bean placed into the bottom right corner to trigger the “five minutes of madness”.

Hollis then opened his account with an angled strike a minute later to give Village the lead before Bean completed his hat-trick after being released Pierre Smith.

A shell-shocked Hood slowly started working their way back into a game they appeared to have control of, with Mahze Burchall and Lozendro Symonds both being denied by Bell in quick succession.

Colin Ryan then went close for Hood, his shot being deflected wide for a corner, while Nusum curled an effort just wide from the edge of the area.

Hood were growing exasperated as the final whistle approached, with Village capping off a gutsy display in the final minute when substitute Keith Jennings, on his Village return, struck the post from a free kick and Hollis firing the rebound home.

Randy Spence, the Village assistant coach, said the team showed true character and was fulsome in his praise of match-winner Bean and goalkeeper Bell.

“Keishen showed some clinical finishing tonight and showed some hunger,” Spence added. “Tahj was also excellent and made some crucial saves. We’re looking to improve as the season goes along.

“It was a strong team performance and we kept going for the full 90 minutes. We stayed disciplined, stayed focused and stayed in the game.”

TEAMS

Robin Hood: J Simons — J Pereira, D Andrade, J Bather, C Caisey, C Ryan, L Symonds, M Burchall (sub: N Figureido, 81min), A Russell, S Smith, L Simmons (sub: J Barry Nusum, 65) Booked: Smith, Periera. Substitutes not used: Titterton, P Froncioni.

North Village: T Bell — A Johnston, J Davis, T Fray (sub: K Jennings, 61), J Thomas (sub: T Wilson, 61), D Daniels, J Briers, T Smith, S Hollis, K Bean, P Smith (sub: L Dill, 80). Substitutes not used: K Knights, Z Hendrickson, D Dillas.

Referee: A Francis.