North Village 6 X-Roads 1

Justin Bell continued his scoring streak with a hat-trick to lead North Village to victory over X-Roads Warriors at Bernard Park on Sunday.

Despite the dominant scoreline, Village head coach Kenny Thompson was not holding back in the criticism of his players.

“The performance was horrendous,” Thompson said. “We have to approach games with the mindset of keeping a high standard. The overall approach was very disappointing and our players must look within themselves to maintain high standards at all times.”

The home side took just two minutes to open the scoring when Jalen Harvey spotted Bell in space and the striker struck a powerful low shot past goalkeeper Q'Shai Darrell.

They doubled their lead soon after from a quick counter-attack. Tre Ming intercepted a pass by Warriors’ midfielder Ajai Daniels and played a ball through to Bell in a dangerous position. Bell made a strong run into the opposition’s half and then slid a pass for Nacori Smith to finish into the near post.

X-Roads were wide open defensively and just before half-time, the 2019 league champions extended their advantage. Ming clipped a good ball to Nacori Smith just inside the penalty area. His initial effort was saved by Darrell, as was the rebound by Jaizel Smith-Deshields, but Pierre Smith finally scored at the third attempt.

Village closed the half poorly and Warriors took advantage of a lack of composure in possession. Nahjee Smith played a lovely pass toward Kahmori Brangman, who squared for Darron Simons to tap in for close range and wrap up a good flowing move.

Inside ten minutes of the second half, Bell completed his hat-trick. Vernon Perinchief picked out the forward with a lofted ball and Bell shrugged off a challenge from Daniel Teleman before lashing an effort into the upper right corner. He then broke the offside trap easily and slotted past Darrell, who rushed out of his net to close down the angle.

Another lapse of concentration allowed Warriors to create a few dangerous openings, most notably Chae Brangman over-hitting his cross for Donavan Thompson. They also forced a strong save from Detre Bell, who punched away a strike by Ajai Daniels midway through the half.

Jaizel Deshields completed the scoring from another quick move, this time Tre Ming providing the assist with a driven through pass and the forward finished into the near post.

North Village

Bell 3, 50, 55; N Smith 16; P Smith 39; Smith-Deshields 64

X-Roads Warriors

Simons 42

TEAMS

North Village (4-2-3-1): D Bell 6 (sub: O Deshields, 77mins) – T Williams 6 (sub: K Harrison, 70 5), T Fray 6, K Knights 5, J Harvey 6 – V Perinchief 5, T Ming 6 (sub: S Lambert, 81) – J Smith-Deshields 7 (sub: I Simmons, 70 5), J Bell 8, N Smith 7 – P Smith 6 (sub: A Santos, 81). Substitutes not used: T Bean. Booked: T Williams.

X-Roads Warriors (4-4-2): Q Darrell 4 – O Williams 5, D Woolridge 4, D Teleman 4, N Smith 5 – D Simons 6, K Brangman 5, A Daniels 5 (sub: R Beek, 73), Z McCarter 5 (sub: J Morgan, 81) – C Brangman 5, D Thompson 5. Substitutes not used: T Daniels; Booked: N Smith, D Woolridge.

Referee: T Simons