Liam Evans’s second goal five minutes from time may just have secured Robin Hood’s top-flight status.

The Hood midfielder, one of his side’s few bright spots last night, controlled a neat cross from Lijuan Simmons at the near post, turned, and slipped the ball past the despairing dive of Troy Hall, the North Village goalkeeper.

Hood’s relief at the final whistle was evident, as much for the three points as for the fact that Evans had salvaged them from a match his team-mates seemed determined to throw away.

Twice Hood went in front at Goose Gosling Field, and twice they allowed Village back into the game. They almost did a third time, but an offside flag came to their rescue.

Village must be wondering how they managed to end up on the wrong side of a result that leaves them, mathematically at least, in danger of the drop.

While Evans was proving to be his side’s biggest threat, at the other end Keishen Bean was giving a lesson in abject finishing. The Village striker blew a host of chances in the first half, including when he was one-on-one with Jason Simmons, the Hood goalkeeper, and inexplicably lobbed the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

Hood were already one up at that stage, with Evans applying a neat finish from six yards out to a clever cut back from Antwan Russell.

Unlucky to find themselves behind, Village’s slick passing and even slicker movement upfront caused Hood no end of problems and Bean found himself in the clear once more, only to drag his shot wide.

Village’s constant pressure, combined with Hood’s disorganised defending, eventually told, although even Village will have been surprised at the ease of their equaliser. Jermone Bailey, the Village defender, collected the ball just inside the Hood half and ran towards the penalty area as players backed off, seemingly scared to tackle him.

He continued his run right into the penalty area, and clipped the ball over Simmons to draw his side level.

At that stage Hood looked like a collection of 11 individuals who were not entirely certain what they doing. Fortunately for them, Hall is not entirely certain what he is doing when it comes to corners.

Three minutes before half time, Hall made a complete mess of one, tried to punch a cross he could have caught, and could do nothing about the Jaylon Bather header that followed.

The home side spent the opening exchanges of the second half defending desperately, and largely getting in each other’s way, apart from when they were needed to support the player in possession, in which case they were nowhere to be found.

That lack of support, and a double substitution when Jahzarde Samuels and Nacori Smith replaced Pierre Smith and Takeyhi Walker, led to Village drawing level once more.

Samuels’s turn of speed cruelly exposed Joseph Pereira’s lack of any down the right flank, and Village carved their way through the Hood defence creating a chance that Demetre Daniels finished with aplomb.

Of the two sides Village looked most likely to score at that point, and then Simmons got free down the right, outpaced Bailey, cut the ball back to Evans, and his finish sparked wild celebrations on the Hood bench.