Luke Vercollone notches hat trick in 45 minute preseason match

Hamilton, Bermuda –

With Revs central midfielders Jose Cancela and Andy Dorman bossing the proceedings, the host side found themselves under pressure from the opening minutes of the game. With the Revs displaying passing precision and exploiting the space on both wings, Vercollone initiated the scoring in the 4th minute when his scorching drive from the left hand side of the box deflected off of Holmes and past Hornets keeper Antoine Lightborne to make it 1-0.

Revolution keeper Doug Warren acquitted himself well in his first test of the evening when, in the 9th minute, Dandy Town midfielder LaShun Dill broke in clean through on the keeper off of a Revs giveaway. Warren sprinted off his line to the top of the box and stole the ball bravely off of the shoelaces of the attacking player.

In the 10th minute, left back Marcos Romaneiro crossed from the left flank for Holmes, whose towering header produced a sprawling save from Lightborne, who tipped the shot over the bar. Cancela served in the ensuing corner and Vercollone, who slipped his marker, lashed home with his left foot to make the score 2-0 in the 11th minute.

The rout was on in the 15th minute when Romaneiro played an angled ball from midfield into space for Holmes, who was making a diagonal run behind the Hornets’ back four. Holmes controlled and coolly stroked home his second goal of the game from 11 yards out to make it 4-0.

Cancela went close twice in the middle portion of the game. In the 23rd minute, the Uruguayan midfielder sizzled a shot from the top left corner of the box that produced another good save from Lightborne. Then, in the 26th minute, Cancela curled a free kick from 21 yards out flush off of the crossbar.

Dorman and Vercollone linked up to good effect again in the 32nd minute. From inside the penalty arc at the top of the box, Dorman passed to Vercollone, who was making run down the left center channel. Lightborne was helpless as Vercollone lashed a rising shot into the top corner from close range.

In the 42nd minute, a Holmes shot from inside the six-yard box forced a spill from Lightborne, and Belleh was able to pounce on the rebound and finish to increase the Revs lead to 6-0.

In the waning moments of the match, Belleh notched a second goal when the Revs relentless attacking pressure produced another goalmouth scramble and the former URI Ram opportunistically toe-poked home to round the scoreline off at 7-0.

Dandy Town Hornets, based in the capital city of Hamilton, are Bermuda’s top club side, having won the last two Premier Division championships as well as the most recent FA Cup and Champions Cup. They currently reside in first place in the Premier Division. An accomplished team, Dandy Town demonstrated excellent competitive spirit and should be commended for their sportsmanlike play.

The Revolution play the Bermuda National Team tonight at 6:30 PM ET at the National Sports Centre stadium. The game will be webcast live on revolutionsoccer.net.

Scoring Summary:

NER – Holmes (Vercollone) 4’
NER – Vercollone (Cancela) 11’
NER – Vercollone (Dorman) 13’
NER – Holmes (Romaneiro) 15’
NER – Vercollone (Dorman) 32’
NER – Belleh (Holmes) 42’
NER – Belleh (unassisted) 45’

NER – Doug Warren, Marcos Romaneiro, Carlos Llamosa, Jeremy Piette, Michael Parkhurst, Luke Vercollone, Andy Dorman, Jose Cancela, Ryan Latham, Perek Belleh, Jamie Holmes
Subs: None

DTH – Antoine Lightborne, Maurice Howe, David Lawler, Dennis Zwill, Ty-Ron Douglas, Seyoum Tazo, LaShun Dill, Seion Darrel, Adan Outerbridge, Carlos Smith, Kinglsey Mundy
Subs: Chris Anderson, Lionel Furbert, Llyod Holder, Jomar Wilkinson, Jared Peniston, Donovan Hill, Kenneth Butterfield, Daniel Johnson.

Cautions: none

Referee: Dan Rutstein