Richard Bryan, Freelance Writer

Nicholi Findlayson

Reno's purple patch at the St. Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) ground continued yesterday with a 5-0 spanking of region mates Village.

Nicholi Findlayson's conversion of a penalty in the 40th minute was the preview for a vicious second half assault in which Recardo Scott netted a hat-trick (70th, 90, 90+) and hometown boy Kirk Wright (82nd) scored.

Reno's latest win kept them in the top three with 21 points, and effectively silenced any arguments as to which was the best team in the west, having beaten Wadadah (2-0 at Frome), Seba (3-2 at Jarrett Park) and Village (1-0 at Jarrett Park).

The STETHS ground has also featured prominently in their first significant performance in almost nine seasons, acquiring eight points in four encounters here since their controversial avoidance of their established Frome home.

While winning coach Wendell Downswell continued to point to Reno's excellent pre-season preparation as well as the decision to play at STETHS, a ground he finds most familiar, having waged his trade there as a teacher for almost two decades.

"It's all about the preparation. I think we got it right in the pre-season and it's reflecting in the chemistry of the team. As you can see today, we put on our second string keeper and it was as if we had Kerr (Dwayne)."

Referring to their third place finish in the first round, he added: "I'm not surprised at this performance and if we can get one or two things sorted out don't be surprised if we aim for something higher." he added

His opposite number, Dr. Dean Weatherly was at a quandary to explain the loss.

"I dont know if it is the break (mid-season) or something else, but I can say we trained well," he told The Gleaner. "We were a better attacking side in the second half, but we weren't tracking at all, our defensive game was very poor."