PHC Zebras 1 Dandy Town 2

Dandy Town edged PHC Zebras in a three-goal thriller at PHC Field yesterday to go 10 points clear at the top of the Premier Division.

Azende Furbert and Jomei Bean-Lindo were on target for the visitors, while Antwan Russell pulled one back from the penalty spot for the home side.

The league leaders were, however, made to sweat in the dying stages of the contest, when PHC enjoyed a dominant spell, as they pressed for an equaliser in what was an action-packed contest.

However, Town held on despite losing captain Angelo Simmons to a minor hamstring pull to claim the points and put more distance between themselves and the chasing pack at the summit.

“We could not have asked for nothing better,” Simmons said. “We worked hard. We came with our game plan, what we wanted to do, and we got the three points.

“We let them back in the game with the penalty but we fought on and held on to the end. It was a good victory for us and we deserved it.”

Aaron Denkins, the Town coach, was also pleased with the resilience shown by his players with the game hanging in the balance and their hosts knocking on the door.

“These are games we would have lost last season but the team as a unit is showing grit and resilience and so I am proud of them,” Denkins said. “They are working hard and working for each other, and this is probably one of the most physically demanding games.

“You saw guys cramping up; guys getting injuries and coming back, so I am proud of them.”

Winston Trott Jr, the PHC coach, declined to comment after his team suffered their first defeat of the season.

Town went straight for the jugular from the opening kick off, pinning PHC in their own half as they piled on the pressure in search of the breakthrough.

But they nearly fell behind against the run of play as Antwan Russell’s header from a corner struck the underside of the bar and was cleared away.

Town finally cashed in on their dominant spell as Furbert rose at the near post to head home Bean-Lindo’s corner to put the visitors out front.

Simmons nearly doubled their advantage shortly after when his 20-yard free struck the upright. The experienced forward then wasted a good opportunity after getting in behind the defence.

That Town led at the break owed much to the solid defending of centre half Terrence Webb, who made two timely tackles to deny Antwan Russell a free run at goal.

PHC made a promising start to the second half with captain Marco Warren having a low shot saved by Town goalkeeper Jaiden Manders.

However, the hosts fell further behind after Bean-Lindo’s low free-kick from 25-yards beat Trott at the near post with what ultimately proved to be the winner.

PHC shaved the deficit in half when Russell converted from the penalty spot after Seion Darrell handled in the area.

Substitute Oneko Lowe nearly restored Town’s two-goal advantage when his shot was cleared off the line by PHC full-back Shakhai Trott.

PHC squandered a glorious opportunity to rescue a point in the latter stages when substitute Jahiem Iris blasted over from close range.

It proved to be a costly miss as Town held firm to secure their seventh straight win.

SCORERS

PHC: Russell 57 pen

Dandy Town: Furbert 10, Bean-Lindo 54

PHC (4-1-4-1): Shaquille Trott 7 – K Abraham 7, E King-Mills 7, R DeShield 6, S Trott 7 (sub: C Castle, 73 min) – K Bean 6 (sub: J Iris, 63 7) – D Usher 7 (sub: D Smith-Lightbourne, 78), M Warren 7, T Ming 6, E Russell 6 (sub: K Hypolite, 63 6) – A Russell 7. Substitutes not used: M Joell, I Taylor, J Sealey, J Eve. Booked: DeShield.

Dandy Town (4-1-4-1): J Manders 8 – J Bean-Lindo 8, T Webb 8, S Darrell 8, E Blankendal 8 – A Furbert 8 – K Davis 7, T Goater 7 (sub: O Lowe, 67min 7), N Spence 8, A Simmons 8 (sub: T Manders, 76) – C Robinson 7. Substitutes not used: J Roser, E Swan, M Issac, A Simons, O Wilson, S Tatem. Booked: Furbert, Blankendal.

Referee: A Francis.