North Village’s quest to head into the Christmas break on top of the Premier Division has been boosted by the availability of Daion Swan-DeSilva.

The 17-year-old attacking midfielder, who last appeared for Village in the FA Cup in April, recently won the Prep Premier League title with The Woodstock Academy.

His presence is expected to add some spark for last season’s runners-up, starting with tonight’s top-of-the-table clash against champions PHC. Adio DeShield-Tankard, who is at Thomas College, played 90 minutes for Village against Devonshire Colts.

With Jonté Smith still away on national cricket duty in Argentina, Swan-DeSilva should give Calvin Dill Jr, the Village interim head coach, more options to combine with Jai Bean and Amir Dill.

“We have Daion Swan-DeSilva back from school, he should be a part of the squad against PHC,” Dill told The Royal Gazette.

“Daion went to school before the season started and is likely to be available for us until the middle of January. He should make a good impact in the team by giving some of the players that have been playing all this time a little rest.

“It’s nice to have him and the other players coming from school. We need the players on the island for the rest of the season, so we don’t want to burn them out.”

PHC head into the fixture under pressure after losing 3-0 to Dandy in their last league match, a third defeat of the season. On their way to winning the 2023-24 title, the Zebras tasted defeat only twice, taking all six points against Village.

Quincy Hunt is aware of the pressure that comes with being champions, as all the teams they play raise their game.

“Every game is a big game for us,” Hunt said. “Everybody wants what we've got, the league title, so it’s always massive when they come to us.

Over the last couple of years, it’s been North Village and us dominating. It’s always a battle with Village and it shouldn't be different this time around.

“Coming off a loss, you always want to play a big game like this. I guess it’s the right time for a big game like this I believe. We've got to pick ourselves back up and fight for what we want. Everybody wants to be on top, Dandy Town and Devonshire Colts are not that far off, so we need to win.

“It’s going to be a dogfight for the rest of the season because even the top teams are being beaten. We play to win titles and for us to do that, it would be nice to be in a good position heading into the second half of the season.

For us, it’s a matter of fixing such small issues that have contributed to our losses. It’s nothing major, as coaches and players, we have identified what’s going on.”

With a three-point advantage at the top, only a three-goal defeat tonight can push Village down to second position.

“We can’t take anything for granted, they’re struggling but we can’t take it as given that we’re going to beat them,” Dill said.

“You can’t count PHC out, they're a big team with a good programme so we've to remain focused. We’re going up there to continue playing the way we've been playing all this time, and to get the job done. We have to be tidy in defence and explosive in attack to get the win.

“It would be nice to go over the Christmas break on top. We are still in the Friendship Trophy; hopefully, we can have some football during the break with most of our players back.”