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Zebras back with a bang: Village stunned by Astwood's double

North Village 1 PHC 2 Former powerhouses of local soccer PHC made a sensational return to the senior division yesterday when they fought from behind to upset the Premier League favourites at Bernard Park.

It was stunning start to the season for the Zebras, just over a year after they suffered the indignity of relegation to the Second Division.

At the final whistle, loyal club supporters were singing a triumphant chorus of "The Zebras are back in force.'' But it remains to be seen whether their young team will be able to play with such intensity throughout the campaign.

However, they deserve credit for brushing aside the challenge that Village offered -- as meek as it was during some periods.

The hero for PHC was young forward Stephen Astwood who hammered home both of their goals, the winner coming by way of the penalty spot after 70 minutes.

Astwood's equaliser was a stunner, arriving after 51 minutes when he collected the ball some 23 yards out and, with nobody challenging, struck a superb drive which easily beat Village's diminutive 'keeper Zane Hendrickson.

His double was a sign that PHC could become a menace to the better teams this season, especially when players such as Dano Outerbridge, Raynell Lightbourne and Desmond Burgess rejoin their ranks.

But Village are also likely to recover from this setback as they too were not at full strength.

Neil (Diamond) Robinson's opener for Village, coming as he slipped through an unsettled defence to score from an acute angle after just five minutes, wasn't a sign of things to come.

Although they were able to maintain the upperhand for the remainder of the half, Village never found the goal again and the continuous breakdown of their attacks proved frustrating.

Sergio Goater and Kevin Jennings, playing on the respective flanks, came close to putting away angled shots after 15 and 20 minutes. And at the other end, PHC managed isolated attacks but up front were lacking finishing ability with Tillman Darrell blowing a chance after 27 minutes as he tamely hit a shot from 14 yards out.

Village's biggest miss came on 28 minutes when player-coach Kenny Thompson failed from the penalty spot after Jevone Sealey had fouled Goater -- Thompson's shot sailing high over the top.

Ottis Steede came close for PHC when his long shot was saved by Hendrickson and then he powered an effort just wide from 16 yards.

In the second half, PHC showed greater desire and their ability to lift their pace and rhythm above their opponents paid dividends.

After 50 minutes Hendrickson smartly advanced off his line to block a point-black shot from Astwood after the forward had brilliantly got around right full-back Jahmailey Samuels.

But a minute later Astwood came up with the blast that landed PHC a deserved equaliser.

With Astwood leading the way, the Village defence, well marshalled by skipper Kimandi Binns, held firm for a while but the emergence of Kenny Mills from the substitutes' bench after 59 minutes added more pressure.

Village forced a few sporadic attacks with Michael Hansey coming close on two occasions, but with PHC now taking the iniative there was always a hint that a deciding goal would come their way.

It finally arrived when Hendrickson advanced off his line and fouled forward Duval Wilson. And Astwood made no mistake from the spot.

North Village: Z.Hendrickson; J.Samuels (R.Edness, 72 mins), J.Thomas, K.Binns, D.Lottimore; J.Boyles (E.Jennings, 85 mins), K.Thompson, N.Robinson; K.Jennings (D.Wade, 64 mins), M.Hansey, S.Goater PHC: C.Crockwell; J.Sealey, R.Lewis, A.Hunt, C.Dowling; O.Steede, A.Washington (V.Ball, 86 mins), C.Furbert (E.Dowling, 83 mins); D.Wilson, T.Darrell (K.Mills, 59 mins), S.Astwood Referee: Lyndon Raynor Men of the match: Kimandi Binns (Village); Stephen Astwood (PHC)