Smith

Western Bureau:

Village United registered their first win of the 2009-10 Digicel Premier League season yesterday afternoon when a double strike by skipper Troy Smith gave them a come-from-behind win against Waterhouse at the Elletson Wakeland Youth Centre in Falmouth.

"We were somewhat goal shy in our two previous games but today we attacked the goal more and it paid off," said winning coach Cassman Williams. "We played well in the two previous games but today we got the right result."

For the Waterhouse team, which was losing its third consecutive game of the season, coach Geoffrey Maxwell felt they played well in patches but not good enough to win.

Brilliant free kicks

"We played well up until we led 1-0 but after that our game broke down," conceded Maxwell. "We lost to two brilliant free kicks by Smith ... it is just one of those days."

The game, which started half hour late because of heavy rains, saw Village United getting the first two chances in the fourth and seventh minutes. First, Renswick Parkinson fired straight at the goalkeeper from close range, then Ronique Francis' shot from six yards was deflected wide.

Midway the half, Waterhouse began to come into their own and took the lead in the 27th minute. A superb corner by Irvino English struck the hands of the goalkeeper and deflected into the roof of the net, making the score 1-0.

Faulty finishing

In the 37th minute, Waterhouse should have doubled their lead when Kevin Lamey back-heeled a pass to Nicholi Findlayson inside the goal area. His shot struck the upright and the half ended without any further goal.

The second half started with Village looking more composed and forcing back Waterhouse. They created several openings but faulty finishing let them down. One such miss came in the 60th minute, when Delroy Ellis curled his shot wide of the goal from close range.

Village finally got on the scoresheet in the 73rd minute when Ellis was fouled 35 yards from goal. The shot by Smith struck the goalkeeper and bobbled into the goal, making the score 1-1.

With time running out in the game and Village looking increasingly ominous in each attack, they won another close-range free kick in the 85th minute. Smith unleashed another superb shot, which left the goalkeeper a mere spectator as it struck the back of the net, making the final score 2-1.