PHC 4

Dandy Town 1

PHC Zebras galloped to the top of the Premier Division standings after humbling league champions Dandy Town at Southampton Oval yesterday.

A Shakir Smith brace and additional strikes from Kadeem Abraham and substitute Lonnie Bascome helped PHC come away with a convincing victory against the visiting side, who replied through a Clay Darrell consolation.

The result enabled Zebras to replace North Village at the summit on goal difference.

Despite losing several players during the last transfer window, Zebras are off to one of their best starts in recent memory.

Mark Wade’s team have yet to drop a point in their opening two league fixtures, banging in eight goals and conceding just one against a Town side, who were simply blown away on this occasion.

Yet, rather than get carried away by his team’s dominant display, Wade attempted to keep his team’s feet planted firmly on the ground.

“This doesn’t indicate anything,” Wade said. “It’s still early days yet, so we will just take the three points and move on to the next game.”

Both teams were without key players. Zebras were missing the services of suspended captain Robert Richardson, while Town’s influential midfielder Damon Ming was sidelined with a fractured wrist.

Keen to shake off a shock loss to promoted St George’s Colts in their previous outing, Town took the match to Zebras from the kick off, with Daniel Adams, the PHC goalkeeper, saving Darrell’s header at the far post.

Town continued to ask questions before they were rocked back on their heels after Smith finished off a nice move started by Cecoy Robinson, the PHC captain, that turned the game on its head.

Smith latched on to a through-ball from Robinson, rounded Cymande Davis, the Town goalkeeper, and slotted into an empty net.

The goal clearly knocked Town off their stride and before they could reorganise they fell further in arrears when Smith, a former Hornets player, doubled his team’s lead and his personal tally, firing home from eight yards after the visiting side failed to clear their lines.

Robinson also had a hand in PHC’s third goal which effectively ended the game as a contest. After being awarded a free kick deep in Town territory, Robinson sent in a perfect cross that was scrambled over the line by Abraham.

Town were thrown a lifeline when Darrell pulled one back just before the break.

Zebras were slow to react to a long ball played over the top of the defence, leaving Darrell with the easy task of lobbing Daniel Adams, the onrushing PHC goalkeeper.

Town played with more width in the second half and after stretching Zebras created several chances at goal only to be denied by poor finishing.

And once again they paid the price as Bascome came off the bench in the 63rd minute and extended Zebras’ lead two minutes later, when he slid the ball under the advancing Davis, capping a superb overlapping run down the right channel by Michael Williams, the PHC full back.

Smith spurned a golden opportunity to secure a hat-trick when his shot from point-blank range was cleared off the line, while Davis went at full stretch to deny Robinson from close range.

A glaring miss by Darrell perhaps best summed up Town’s afternoon, the striker blasting Ayshaun Smith’s precise cross over an empty net from two yards out.