Hamilton Parish 0 PHC Zebras 0

PHC’s Premier Division lead is down to a point after they were held to a goalless draw by Hamilton Parish at Wellington Oval on Saturday.

The league leaders had goalkeeper Quinaceo Hunt to thank for that point after he saved a Samario Valasse-Paul penalty in the first half and coach Quincy Hunt acknowledged his side had been below par.

“It’s a point gained today as we were poor today,’’ Hunt said. “The good thing is that we didn't lose, so we’re still in the driver's seat.

“Credit to Parish, they showed up and made us fight for a point. They had at least three or four clear-cut chances to put us behind but they just lacked the finishing edge.

“We didn't deserve the point but we got it and they should have beaten us today. We had a couple of injuries so we survived.”

With just three games to play, PHC lead North Village by a point and the two teams have to face each other at Bernard Park on March 16.

“We still have to win our games,” Hunt told The Royal Gazette. “I don't care about anybody else, we’re going to do what we've got to do.

“My mind’s on the next game, I can’t think about Village and the game after that. My focus is our next game against Paget.

“Village are where they are because they are a good team and we are where we are because we are a good team.

“There’s always been a battle between PHC and North Village for a very long time. It’s not about them or about us, it’s about who wants it more.”

Parish coach Sergio Goater was disappointed not to pick up maximum points from a match his side controlled.

“That was two points lost for us,” Goater said. “On the balance of the game, I would have to look at that as two points lost. We had more than enough chances to win the game, missed a penalty and other opportunities, so I’m actually disappointed.

“PHC are very difficult to play because they keep coming. I had to let my players know, you have to track those runners. Once they were able to track those runners, it allowed us to stay in the game a lot more.

“Macquille Walker should have taken that penalty because he took a penalty the last game and scored, so that could have boosted his confidence.

“Samario ran over there and grabbed the ball amd he had confidence like someone who was going to score. The keeper went the right way and saved it, but we still had more than enough opportunities after that to put the game to bed.

“That’s two weeks in a row that we've playedteams that are above us. For me it’s good for the team to know that we can compete at this level.

“Our last three games are against teams at the bottom. I have to motivate my players to get in a mindset to play teams below us, and it’s difficult, remember these teams are fighting for points, they’re trying to stay in the league.”

Parish made a bright start with Macquille Walker rattling the crossbar in the fifth minute.

Five minutes later, the home side earned a penalty when Kadeem Abraham handled the ball inside the box. Valasse-Paul could not score from 12 yards, as Hunt went the correct way to push the ball out for a corner. From the corner kick, Valasse-Paul headed wide.

In the 27th minute, Walker took a snap shot from the edge of the box which went over the bar.

PHC missed two glorious chances within three minutes. Jenico Sealey blasted his effort over before Keishon Bean also missed after the ball was nicely to him by Enrique Russell.

Armad Foy of Parish could not maintain his composure in the 36th minute when he connected with a cross from Kion Knights.

Walker had the best chance in the second half, which he failed to bury. Parish captain Mauriq Hill also could not keep his header down from a Valasse-Paul corner.

TEAMS

Hamilton Parish (4-5-1): N Burgess 6 – K Knights 6, M Turner 6, Q Outerbridge 6, K Trott 6 – A Nelson 6, M Hill 6, L Lewis, S Valasse-Paul 6, A Foy 6 – M Walker 6. Substitutes not used: P Burgess, J Stowe. Booked: Turner

PHC (4-5-1): Q Hunt 7 – D Usher 6, N Furbert 6, D Dowling 6, K Abraham 6 – J Iris 6, K Bean 6 (sub: J Belboda Raveneau, 76min), T Showers 6, E Russell 6, J Sealey 6 – R Hassell 6 (sub: J Ebbin 38, 6). Substitutes not used: J Symons, M Smith, R Simmons, S Nesbitt, Y Burgess. Booked: Russell

Referee: A Francis