PHC 3 Dandy Town 1

PHC ensured that Premier Division league leaders North Village will need to win the championship on the pitch after beating Dandy Town in an entertaining encounter at PHC Stadium on Saturday night.

The result moved the 2023-24 champions within one point of Village, who can claim the title with three points against Devonshire Colts at Police Field on Sunday afternoon (3pm).

PHC coach Quincy Hunt is not looking to relinquish the league title without a fight.

“It’s not over until it’s over,” he said. “We did what we had to do and now let the chips fall where they may. If it comes down to the last game, we will be ready.”

With their title hopes on the line, PHC took the game to their opponents and nearly scored early when an attempted clearance was blocked by Haile Eve. The ball rolled to striker Enrique Russell, who beat one defender, but his shot went just wide with Town goalkeeper Azir Harvey beaten.

At the other end, Town’s Nathan Ntula found space but his attempted lob was easily pulled in by PHC goalkeeper Quinaceo Hunt.

Within minutes, Ntula produced a glaring miss when he fired over the top from six yards out after Jahkari Furbert’s cross found him unmarked in the centre.

Russell had another chance to open the scoring, but he placed his header straight at Harvey after Diondre Dowling picked him out with a perfectly floated cross.

PHC took the lead in the 34th minute after Town conceded a free kick 20 yards out. Keishon Bean stepped up and hit a right-foot screamer, which nestled in the top left corner of Harvey’s net despite his gallant diving effort.

Hunt kept his clean sheet going into the interval when he advanced courageously to take the ball off the boot of Ereico Outerbridge, who had sneaked through on goal.

Shortly after the restart, PHC doubled their lead from a good build-up involving Bean, T’syi Showers and Russell, with the latter blasting into the roof of the net with the final touch.

Town reduced the deficit in the 52nd minute when Outerbridge got on to the end of an Amir Lewis free kick, which was allowed to bounce, before placing a low shot past the stranded Hunt.

PHC had to endure some anxious moments when they were reduced to ten men in the 62nd minute after Showers received his second yellow card. The one-man advantage energised Town, who immediately picked up the tempo and forced Hunt to make a spectacular fingertip save to push Lewis’s curling effort over the top.

Russell had the chance to extend PHC’s lead when he was played through by Jaydon Belboda-Raveneau, but shot straight at the cramping Harvey.

With time running down, centre back Jaylon Bather was instrumental in setting up PHC’s third and ease their supporters’ nerves when he intercepted a pass and dribbled forward before playing an inch-perfect pass into Russell, who side-footed into the bottom left corner to close out the scoring.

SCORERS

PHC: Bean 34, Russell 47, 87

Dandy Town: Outerbridge 52

TEAMS

PHC (4-2-3-1): Q Hunt 7 — J Belboda-Raveneau 5, D Dowling 6, J Bather 6, D Smith-Lightbourne 5 — D Lodge 5, D Usher 5, — T Showers 5, K Bean 6 (sub: J Ebbin, 65min 5), H Eve 6 (sub: D Wainwright, 69 5) — E Russell 7. Substitutes not used: N Griffith, A Wade, Y Burgess, M Wilson. Booked: Showers, Belboda-Raveneau. Sent off: Showers.

Dandy Town (3-5-1-1): A Harvey 6 — T Webb 6, E Moore 6, E Blankendal 6 — J Furbert 5, N Spence 6 (sub: O Wilson, 83), T Smith 5 (sub: D Ming, 69 5) A Lewis 6, E Outerbridge 7 — N Ntula 7 — D Jones 6 (sub: A Martin, 89). Substitutes not used: A Daniels, S Darrell, T Place, G Liburd. Booked: Harvey, Moore, Spence.

Referee: A Majors.