HATS off to Clive Bateman, Colin Renouf and their Sylvans team.

Wednesday night’s performance in defeating Bels at the Track – albeit on penalties in the end – was worthy of as much praise as any other we are likely to see this season.

I freely admit that I arrived at the Track expecting a Bels backlash after their defeat to North and was wondering how many goals they would notch up that evening.

In retrospect, I don’t know why that was the case.

Each time I have seen Sylvans this season it has been against either Bels or North. Each time I have gone away feeling that the westerners have deserved far more out of the game than they have got.

This result was overdue.

And make no mistake about it, Bels did not even deserve to take it to extra time, let alone a shoot-out, and had they progressed to the semi-finals of the Stranger Cup it would have been a grave injustice.

Yes, Sylvans parked seven defenders in front of the ball from the moment Lee Renouf was sent off for his instinctive deliberate handball with 25 minutes of the regular 90 left, but they never crumbled.

Once they fell behind in extra time, the 10 men fought back and equalised within two minutes before taking the lead against all odds. That took guts as well as a bit of quality, which they undoubtedly have in youngsters such as Brady Lesbirel – the scorer of their fourth.

And a special mention must go to Wayne Bishop, who ploughed a lone furrow up front for much of the night yet managed to give the Bels defence a torrid time and Ian Champion a few grey hairs.

But I reserve my main praise for the amiable Bateman himself.

He has not had it easy and has admitted to having had some sleepless nights wondering if he could scrape a side together for match days when, more often than not, luck seems to have been against them.

But he always looks for the positives, keeps encouraging his young troops and backs them to the hilt.

His reward came in their display, and the result, on Wednesday.

On the other side of the coin, Bels are going through a bad patch and they know it. You could sense it in their desperate search for an equaliser as time was running out on Wednesday.

They will turn things around – they have too many good players not to – but as things stand, St Martin’s probably arrive at the Track today licking their lips at the prospect of playing one of their main rivals while they are down in the mouth.

Wouldn’t it be just typical of Bels, though, to end their slump at a fellow title-contender’s expense?

ONE other observation from the past fortnight.

For Tony Vance’s sake, I hope that the Muratti final does not go to a penalty shoot-out come May.

It used to be my view that if someone is adamant that they do not want to take a penalty, don’t make them do so as they will probably make a hash of it anyway if they are so nervous about it.

However, it is a worry that so many island squad members – particularly forwards – have ducked responsibility in the first two Stranger Cup ties of the season, which have both gone to shootouts.

It is a horrible feeling when you miss a penalty. I can attest to that, having broken down in tears the one time I have ever taken a competitive spot kick – as a 10-year-old for La Mare de Carteret Primary School in the Island Junior Schools Championship – and saw it saved.

But everyone knows you do not mean to miss and the notion that if you do, you are the villain of the piece, is nonsense.

It would be refreshing if those who have been shying away take on Alan Shearer’s attitude, which was as a striker you rarely get as good an opportunity to be a hero as from 12-yards with only the keeper to beat – if you miss, so be it.