Devonshire Cougars 1

PHC Zebras 2

PHC Zebras survived a late fightback from Devonshire Cougars to earn their first league win of the season at Devonshire Recreation Club last night.

Marco Piper put Zebras ahead when he fired home from close range, before Cecoy Robinson doubled the visitors lead with an hour gone, with a well taken goal.

Cougars finally got a foothold in the match when Zeko White swept the ball past Troy Hall, the PHC goalkeeper, with three minutes of normal time remaining, to set up an exciting finish.

However, Mark Steede’s controversial sending off knocked Cougars’ late revival off stride.

Steede was sent off after getting tangled up with an opponent challenging for the ball, and his dismissal seemed a touch on the harsh side.

Steede was one of two Cougars players receiving their marching orders last night, with Kioshi Trott, the substitute goalkeeper who was sat on the bench, sent off for cursing less than five minutes into the second half.

Looking for their first win of the season, PHC got on top of their hosts from the start, beating Cougars to the first and second ball, and taking full advantage of the acres of space on offer.

It took the visiting team only seven minutes to unlock the Cougars defence. Julian Carpenter, the PHC midfielder, spotted Lovintz Tota, the Cougars goalkeeper, off his line and tried to chip the latter from outside of the penalty box.

Tota got a hand to the ball but couldn’t hold onto it, and Piper finished with aplomb from close range.

PHC controlled the tempo and had plenty of looks at goal only to be let down by poor touches in and around the box. Still, they should have been two up when a cross found Jahnai Raynor unmarked at the back post, but with the goal at his mercy the PHC midfielder headed wide.

In contrast, Cougars struggled to find their rhythm and rarely tested Hall.

The closest the home team came to scoring in the opening exchanges was when Vince Minors, the striker, peeled away from his marker, but Hall was out quickly to clear the danger.

PHC nearly doubled their lead right on the stroke of half-time, but Tota denied Piper from close range.

The second half started much like the first, with Robinson squandering a good chance, and Tota making a crucial save to deny Shakir Smith.

Steede replaced Zekiro White near the hour mark and his big presence proved to be a handful for the PHC defence.

The big striker nearly cut his team’s deficit in half when his goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Na’eem Griffith.

Cougars enjoyed their best spell of the game in the closing minutes and after finally took control of midfield, which allowed them to pull one back.

The PHC defence switched off and White took full advantage, rolling his shot into the far corner to throw the hosts a lifeline.

All that momentum came crashing to a halt, however, when Steede was sent off for a soft foul.

Still, White had a close range effort saved by Hall, while at the other end Raynor fired over the bar seconds before the final whistle.

The victory moved PHC up to sixth in the table while Cougars remain last with no points.

n In last night’s First Division Wolves cruised to a comfortable victory over X-Roads.

The hosts took the lead through an own goal after 22 minutes, and Lamelle Paynter doubled their advantage three minutes later.

Wolves put the matter beyond doubt with Mikeal Ming’s 75th minute strike.