North Village 2

PHC Zebras 0

North Village came through a test of character to seal a hard-fought victory over PHC Zebras in their Premier Division match at Bernard Park yesterday.

A 27th-minute penalty by Pierre Smith gave third-place Village the lead after the midfielder had been tripped in the box by Kenji Griffith, the PHC defender.

PHC came on strong during the later stages of the first half with a free kick from Cecoy Robinson being tipped over the bar by Zane Hendrickson, the Village goalkeeper.

Then, moments before the interval, Tyrell Burgess, who was superb at the heart of the Village defence throughout, cleared off the line after some sustained Zebras pressure.

PHC continued to force Village to retreat deep inside their half as they pressed for an equaliser early in the second period, with midfielder Terryn Fray heading off the line from Cecoy Robinson’s inswinging corner.

Zebras, who started the game one point behind Village in the table, went even closer when striker Casey Castle struck the post with a turn and shot from the edge of area.

Hendrickson, a late call-up in the absence goalkeeper Jason Williams who is overseas, then pulled off another flying save from a stringing shot from defender Julian Carpenter before Philip Parsons twice cleared off the line as Zebras piled on the pressure.

Village successfully weathered that ten-minute storm and with Richard Todd, the Village coach, bringing out fresh legs in the form of experienced strikers Keishen Bean and Keston Lewis, the home side began to turn the tide in their favour.

In the 85th minute Village gave themselves some breathing space when Lewis dribbled into the box, rounding Troy Hall Jr, the PHC goalkeeper, before laying the ball off for defender Dakai Grant to fire into the empty net.

Todd praised his side’s defensive discipline and described the result as an “important win” considering Village have surrendered several points this season by conceding late goals.

“I was pleased with our all-around performance,” Todd said. “I thought our structure defensively was very sound and we were difficult to penetrate.

“Also, our attacking mobility was good and we pulled the PHC defence about well.

“We’ve conceded late on in about three games this season so it was good to get over the hump. It was a great effort by the players and an important result for us.”

Todd also hailed the display of Hendrickson who reeled off several vital saves.

“Zane Hendrickson came in as an emergency call-up and I thought he was outstanding,” Todd added.

“Success doesn’t come straight away and I feel we’re making some strides in the right direction.

“We knew there would be periods of PHC pressure in the second half. At one point I think they had three or four corners in quick succession.”