Southampton Rangers suffered the dreaded drop into the First Division yesterday after two goals by Cecoy Robinson and a late third by substitute Shakir Smith sealed their fate at Southampton Oval.

PHC gave 16-year-old goalkeeper Quinaceo Hunt his full debut while two other members of their Under-16 Appleby Knockout Cup winning team, Keishon Bean and Enrique Russell, were on the bench.

However, within a few minutes of the start it was quite clear that they were still taking the match quite seriously, with third place up for grabs and an FA Cup semi-final to prepare for.

Needing to win to have any chance of surviving, Rangers were behind as early as the fourth minute when Robinson converted from the penalty spot for his eleventh goal of the season after Neil Smith slammed into the back of Casey Castle.

Castle needed treatment after falling face down onto the ground, but it was Rangers feeling the most pain when Robinson, the PHC captain, placed his spot-kick past goalkeeper Jason Smith.

PHC, with a third-place finish in their sights, were certainly in no mood to make it an easy afternoon for their neighbours as they got the job done to secure the three points that enabled them to finish ahead of North Village on goal difference.

“We got the job done today, but it kind of sums up our season whereas we made things difficult,” Mark Wade, the PHC coach, said. “We had the personnel where we could have and should done better in the league, but I’m happy to see the youngsters come through, we’ve used quite a few 16-year-olds.

“It’s always been our policy to give young people a chance and show faith in them. This win sets us up nicely for the semi-final, similar size pitch, so we worked on some things we know we need to do against Dandy Town.”

Robinson and Castle, PHC’s joint top scorers, caused early problems for the Rangers defence, with Castle going close to adding a second goal when Robinson created the opening with a run into the box before Castle lifted his effort over the bar.

Castle earned himself a booking minutes later for kicking the ball into the Rangers goal after referee Ronue Cann’s whistle had blown. Rangers were struggling to keep Robinson quiet as he went close again a minute later when he outpaced the Rangers defence but smashed his effort against the near upright.

Another PHC chance was created by Robinson when he sent Jahnai Raynor through before his weak shot was saved by the diving Smith.

Rangers finally tested the young PHC goalkeeper when Akale Bean sent in a low shot from 25 yards that Hunt easily saved.

Rangers introduced midfielder Vernon Perinchief at the start of the second half and immediately they looked a different team. Perinchief laid on a pass for defender Kemon Simmons to score with a shot into the far post from the right side of the penalty box in the 47th minute. Now it was game on as Rangers looked much improved after a brief period of pressure.

However, things changed in the 54th minute when Robinson sprinted through the middle to blast past Smith and restore PHC’s lead. Rangers were down to ten men at the time with Shaki Swan, who had just come on as a substitute off the field receiving treatment to a leg injury.

PHC began creating a host of chances as their own substitute, Shakir Smith, blasted wide of the far post from an angle after a quick break. At the other end, Akale Bean dragged a shot wide of the far post after a pass from Perinchief. Then some nice one touches around the box created another chance for Bean but this time Hunt turned his shot away for a corner.

Rangers went into the closing minutes knowing that only victory would save them from the drop, but it was all over for them in the 89th minute when Smith blasted home from an angle on the left side of the box.

TEAMS

Southampton (4-4-2): J Smith — A Rocker (sub: S Perinchief, 60min), K Simmons, N Smith, A Raynor — J Dyer, E Stoneham, J Seymour, R Lowe (sub: V Perinchief, 46) — K Symonds (sub: S Swan, 54), A Bean. Substiute not used: J Hill. Booked: Smith.

PHC (4-4-2): Q Hunt — D Usher, N Griffith, M Lambe, J Ball — M Waldron, D Dowling, M Burchall (sub: S Smith, 51), J Raynor — C Robinson (sub: O Tucker, 86), C Castle (sub: K Hall, 73). Substitutes not used: D Johnson, K Bean, D Smith-Lightbourne, E Russell. Booked: Castle.

Referee: R Cann.