Paget 2 PHC 4

Reigning Premier Division champions PHC showed they may well be the team to beat again this season as they fought hard to tame Paget Lions at Southampton Oval on Sunday.

PHC made a statement of intent with a dominant first half and they made the perfect start when T’syi Showers clipped a cross into Haile Eve, who controlled and curled a beautiful strike into the top left corner past the motionless Omari Deshields to give Zebras the lead inside two minutes.

The away side continued their impressive start and doubled the lead in the eleventh minute. Showers was involved again from the left flank and the youngster fired a pass square for Kadeem Abraham to lay back to Jahiem Iris, whose scuffed shot eventually found the bottom corner via a deflection.

Showers, who was an early contender for player of the match, had his excellent display ended by a groin injury sustained in making a challenge on Paget winger Kushae Hypolite.

That proved the catalyst for Paget to find some attacking momentum, with skipper Diaje Hart and fellow forward Shakir Smith forcing Zebras keeper Quinaceo Hunt into two fingertip saves, but that was halted in the 39th minute when D’Andre Wainwright produced a tidy finish from a pinpoint low cross by De-Aun Lodge from the right wing.

Paget head coach Antwan Russell made a few tactical switches at half time, bringing on more physicality in the form of Omari Tucker and Delray Rawlins up front, and adding the additional firepower of Nelson Carpenter out wide.

The switch paid dividends quickly as Tucker and Carpenter were deployed as runners in behind the muscular figure of Rawlins, who won the vast majority of his headers when called upon.

Hart pulled Paget back into the game after displaying beautiful control from a driven pass delivered by Damion Swan before rattling a piledriver into the far corner past Hunt.

Paget pulled another goal back in the 56th minute as Zebras failed to clear a corner and Tristan Davis made a beautiful run from midfield through three visiting players to finish into the bottom corner past Hunt and turn this derby into a true contest.

TPaget continued to press and Damion Swan smashed a powerful free kick from around 45 yards on to the crossbar

The final 20 minutes became a basketball match with PHC attempting to kill the match off with a fourth and Paget trying to complete an improbable three-goal comeback.

Marcus Wade and Kyjah Simons added additional attacking ammunition to the Paget attack but PHC did well to keep them out with Hunt pulling off two additional saves before Jenico Sealey finally clinched victory for PHC in the 87th minute with a composed finish from close range after Jayden Ebbin picked him out with a precise through ball.

Scorers:

Paget: Hart 50, Davis 56

PHC: Eve 2, Iris 11, Wainwright 39, Sealey 87

TEAMS

Paget (4-2-3-1): O Deshields 5; T Davis 6 (sub: M Wade, 88min), J Carpenter 5, R Deshields 6, D Cook 6; D Swan 5 (sub: K Simons, 69 5), D Joell 5 (sub: D Rawlins, 46 6); A Grant 5 (sub: N Carpenter, 46 5), D Hart 6, K Hypolite 5 (sub: O Tucker, 46 5); S Smith 5. Substitutes not used: K Durrant, J Morrissey. Booked: Grant

PHC (4-3-3): Q Hunt 7; D Usher 5, J Bather 6, D Smith-Lightbourne 5, D Lodge 5; D Dowling 5, J Iris 7 (sub: J Ebbin, 77), K Abraham 6; H Eve 7 (sub: Z Lee, 70 5), D Wainwright 7 (sub: J Sealey, 77), T Showers 7 (sub: H Bean-Fox, 30 5). Substitutes not used: A Wade, K Bean, T Bean. Booked: Q Hunt (coach)

Referee: R Douglas 6