Somerset Eagles 1

PHC 2

PHC scraped to a narrow win over Somerset Eagles at White Hill yesterday, displaying the kind of luck that often shadows a championship winning team.

Kyle Lightbourne's men were outplayed for long periods of this encounter, yet still managed to come away with three points, and are now second in the Premier Division, just a point behind Boulevard Blazers.

For Eagles the loss was their fourth defeat in five games, and their first at home this season, and while they play some good football, their defending is simply not good enough for the top-flight.

Yesterday they gifted PHC a two-goal head start, allowing Omar Shakir to ghost in to the neat post to head home a corner with just nine minutes gone, and then two minutes later, Lloyd Holder was left all alone to head home a Blenn Bean cross from a yard out.

The visiting side should have been out of sight in the first quarter of the game, Jeff Franklin blasting straight at Marcel Dill when clean through, and Cecoy Robinson's well-drilled cross was inches from Holder's out-stretched boot moments later.

By that time Eagles had already got one goal back through Jonathan Bean, who reacted quickest when PHC goalkeeper Raymond Glasford spilled a free kick. And as the game went on they seemed the more likely to score.

That they didn't was down to some stout defending and some poor finishing, with Eagles letting PHC off the hook on several occasions in a second half that was mostly one-way traffic with Eagles laying siege to PHC's goal.

Of the numerous chances that the home side squandered, substitute Darin Dowling was the worst offender, heading the ball on to the post in the last minute with goalkeeper Raymond Glasford stranded in no-man's land. Troy Tucker then missed the rebound, blasting over as PHC defenders struggled to close him down. The visiting side were also helped by an impressive display from Shakir, who dominated the game in the air, and cut out several attacks with an out-stretched leg, or a couple of well-judged fouls that on a different occasion may have earned him an early bath for persistent offending.

He and his defenders had to be at their best though, because while Glasford is a good shot-stopper, he struggles with high balls into the box, and several times PHC had to scramble the ball clear when he failed to collect it.

Somerset Eagles: M.Dill, D.Andrade, D.Seymour, J.Bather, A.Lambert (D.Swan, 88mins)T.Davis, R.Deshields, Troy Tucker, A.Grant (D.Dowling, 77), A.Russell, J.Bean (S.Smith, 80). Subs not used: A.Rocker, K.Simmons, E.Trott, Tamauri Tucker.

Yellow cards: D.Andrade, A.Russell

Goals: Bean 16

PHC: R.Glasford, C.Dowling, O.Shakir, S.Smith (R.Richardson, 46), F.Frankson, B.Bean, J.Sealey, C.Furbert, J.Franklin (J.Raynor, 63), C.Robinson, L.Holder (Q.Burgess, 74). Subs not used: J.Smith, M.Lambe, D.Wilson, K.Lambe.

Goals: Shakir 9, Holder 11.

Yellow cards: O.Shakir, J.Sealey

Referee: S.Allan

Man of the match: O.Shakir (PHC)