PHC Zebras set up an intriguing Friendship Trophy final showdown with perennial rivals Somerset Trojans after edging North Village in yesterday’s semi-final at PHC Field.

Goals either side of half-time from Casey Castle and Shakir Smith cancelled out Pierre Smith’s early strike and sent Zebras through to a first Friendship Trophy final in seven seasons and sixteenth overall.

Zebras and Trojans will now do battle in the final at Somerset Cricket Club on New Year’s Day.

Trojans have a score to settle with PHC who thrashed them 6-1 the last time these two teams met in the Premier Division at the same venue on December 6. Somerset defeated Hamilton Parish 3-0 in the other semi-final on Boxing Day at Bernard Park, thanks to goals from Leo Burgess, Justin Corday and Justin Donawa.

Rakeem DeShields, who led PHC to victory over inaugural Friendship Trophy winners Village in the absence of vacationing captain Cecoy Robinson, said his team are up for the final, but admits that their task will not be easy against a Trojans side keen to avenge this month’s humbling defeat against the same opponents.

“Somerset are going to be looking to resurrect themselves from that loss that they suffered at their home field last time,” DeShields said.

“But we want to win as well and morale is very high in the camp. We are just going to stay humble and get back to work.”

The last time PHC and Trojans met in a cup final was in the 1992-93 Dudley Eve Trophy final which Trojans won 3-1 on aggregate.

DeShields also hailed PHC’s impressive come-from-behind triumph over a Village side that has won the Friendship Trophy a record 11 times. “It was a hard fought match and the key today was settling fast,” he said. “We started a little slow but gradually got into the game and worked hard.

“We never put our heads down when we went behind and we deserved it at the end of the day.”

Richard Todd, the Village coach, said: “I thought it was a good match. We started very strong taking the early goal and had a lot of the momentum early.

“They probably had a little bit more in their legs that he helped them throughout the duration of the match. The legs were a little bit tired and we lost a little bit of the sharpness.

“The players will be disappointed because everybody wants to advance to a final and certainly wants to win. But we can keep our heads up knowing that we didn’t play badly.”

In the First Division Shield, BAA will meet X-Roads in the New Year’s Day final also at Somerset Cricket Club. BAA thrashed ten-man St George’s 4-0 at PHC Field yesterday courtesy of a brace from substitute Troy Tucker, a Willie Clemons penalty and a long-range effort by Nicholas Araujo.

St George’s were reduced to ten men in the sixteenth minute when goalkeeper Charlie Marshall Jr was sent off for foul and abusive language while protesting against Clemons’s opener, a quickly-taken free kick.

Macai Simons, the St George’s striker, missed a second-half penalty with score 1-0.

In the other semi-final, played on Boxing Day, X-Roads beat Social Club 4-3 thanks to a Jamin Furbert’s extra-time winner at Bernard Park.