PHC Zebras 3 Boulevard 1

Cecoy Robinson, the PHC captain, struck a double salvo in extra time to guide his team to victory over Boulevard in a scrappy FA Cup first round contest at PHC Field yesterday.

The experienced striker netted in the first period of added time to put the home side up 2-1 and grabbed another in the second to put paid to Boulevard’s cup hopes.

Earlier, towering forward Zaire Burchall earned Boulevard the lead against the run of play with a spectacular, swerving volley from 45 yards that caught Shaquille Trott, the PHC goalkeeper, off his line.

An own goal by Boulevard midfielder Niko Smith two minutes into the second half brought the teams level.

PHC had a chance to settle the tie in regulation when they were awarded a penalty. However, forward Marco Warren’s spot-kick pinged the bottom left post with Boulevard makeshift goalkeeper, Antoine Famous, having guessed the wrong way.

Famous, who started the match as a centre back but was forced to go in goal after Azir Harvey went off injured, made a string of saves to keep the visiting side in the match.

Boulevard also rode their luck as PHC substitute Jenico Sealey rattled the woodwork with a thunderous blast from a tight angle.

With the game hanging in the balance and penalties looming, Robinson pounced to finally settle a cup-tie the home side should have won by a wider margin, given the plethora of chances they wasted when scoring seemed easier.

“I thought we worked a little bit harder than we needed to,” Robinson, the Bermuda forward, said. “We missed too many chances in regulation, but sometimes it goes like that. That’s how football goes.”

Ian Coke, the Boulevard captain, believes the early loss of goalkeeper Harvey took a heavy toll.

“It was blow that our ’keeper went down because now we had to shift throughout the ranks and make alterations on the field as well,” he said. “It really forced our hand a bit early to use some subs, and as the game went on they [PHC] started picking up momentum.

“Our subs, or lack thereof, really cost us. If we would have made a few more strategic subs going through, we could have come away with a better result.”

SCORERS

PHC Zebras: Smith og 47, Robinson 96, 116

Boulevard Blazers: Burchall 30

(after extra time; 1-1 at 90min)

TEAMS

PHC(4-2-3-1): S Trott — D Smith-Lightbourne, M Lambe, N Griffith, D Usher — D Lodge, K Bean (sub: T Ming, 66min) — M Warren, C Booth, S Trott (sub: J Sealey, 68) — C Robinson. Substitutes not used: C Fubler, J Hassell, K Abraham, K Hypolite.

Boulevard (4-1-4-1): A Harvey (sub: T Butterfield, 22) — Z Stovell, A Famous, J Williams, N Augustus — D Taylor — N Smith, E Zuill (sub: Q Savory, 98), Z Burchall, I Coke — K Easton (sub: N Eversley, 75). Substitutes not used: Y Darrell, T Swan. Booked: Smith, Augustus.

Referee: A Francis.