PHC 1 North Village 1

Fantastic first-half goals from Enrique Russell and Tre Ming, both from outside the box, resulted in the top-of-the-table contest between PHC and North Village ending in a draw at PHC Field last night.

Russell gave the champions the lead in the nineteenth minute with a well-taken strike, but Ming’s equaliser ensured that Village’s lead going into the Christmas break remained at three points.

The draw moved table-topping Village to 19 points, while PHC are now on 16.

A win for Dandy Town against St George’s Colts tomorrow would push the champions to third, leaving them with ground to cover when league action resumes next month.

PHC coach Quincy Hunt was content with the draw after a 3-0 defeat by Town in their previous fixture.

“We performed better than our last game, so it’s a step in the right direction,” Hunt told The Royal Gazette. “We wanted three points, but we didn’t lose, so that’s a good thing.

“We still have a lot to play for in the second half of the season. We just have to win our games and everything falls into place. We’ll just focus on what we have to do, and everything else will take care of itself.”

Calvin Dill Jr, the Village interim head coach, was pleased with picking up a point against a PHC side who have lost three matches this season.

“We were playing away from home against a PHC team that had their backs against the wall,” the Village coach said.

“We expected another dogfight with them, and we came away with a point to stay on top of the table, so I’m satisfied. I thought the performance could have been a lot better, but I would take the point.

“It’s always been our plan from the start of the season. We had a slow start, but once we got started, we wanted to make sure we’re on top of the table at the halfway stage of the season.”

After a cautious start by both sides, the match came alive when Russell, who scored in the same fixture last year to give PHC three points, struck with precision from the edge of the box after a pass from D’Andre Wainwright.

Russell had a chance to double the PHC lead in the 23rd minute, only to shoot over. The champions kept piling on the pressure, with a great block from Jayce Basden denying Wainwright a crack at goal.

Jai Bean got three opportunities to equalise for Village but could not capitalise on any of them before Ming levelled the scores seven minutes before the break. A diagonal pass from London Steede-Jackson found the midfielder unmarked and he had all the time in the world to pick his spot with a dipping strike.

In the 54th minute, Quinaceo Hunt, the PHC goalkeeper, made a great block with his feet to deny Bean, while at the other end Detre Bell produced a fine save to keep out Russell with 20 minutes remaining.

Village had a chance to win it five minutes from the end when Bean crossed for Daion Swan-DeSilva, but his header came off the upright.

SCORERS

PHC: Russell 18

North Village: Ming 38

TEAMS

PHC (4-3-3): Q Hunt 6 – D Smith-Lightbourne 6, E King-Mills 6, D Usher 6, D Smith Davis 6 – K Abraham 6, C McDowell 6, H Bean-Fox 6 (sub: T Showers, 46min 5) – H Eve 6, E Russell 7, D Wainwright 6 (sub: J Ebbin, 89). Substitutes not used: J Hassell, A Wade, M Lambe, T Bean, Y Burgess.

North Village (4-2-3-1): D Bell 6 – L Evans 6, R Sampson 6 (sub: T Wilson, 72), J Basden 6 (sub: K Knights, 87), K Harrison 6 – T Ming 7, S Spence 6 (sub: J Harvey, 55 5) – L Steede-Jackson, A Deshields-Tankard (sub: A Dill, 72), D Swan-DeSilva 6 – J Bean 6. Substitutes not used: J Hayward, I Simmons, J Chapman. Booked: Ming, Bean

Referee: J Springer (Barbados).