PHC 2North Village 1Cecoy Robinson’s strike from the halfway line was enough for PHC to defeat North Village at Southampton Oval yesterday to keep his Zebras’ title hopes alive race.Both teams required maximum points, with PHC five adrift back of DandyTown, butit was Zebras who claimed the vital victory.Former Somerset Eagles player Rakeem Deshields scored the opener for Zebras, while Village captain Sammy DeGraff was on target for the visitors.DeGraff also missed a second half penalty with score at 1-1.PHC skipper Antwan Russell said his side’s win was a testament to the charatcer within their dressing room.“It was a show of character for us today, we knew that if we lost it would be the end of the season for us so we went out and got the result that was needed,” he said.“No one thought we would be in this position, especially the fans because we have a young team and a few of our senior players were out, but myself and the rest of the senior players have stepped up.“Village have beaten us so many times in our recent encounters that we had to come out with some sort of pride and we got what we feel we deserved.”PHC got that particular monkey off their back in emphatic fashion in match that could have gone either way.The scoring started in the ninth minute when Deshields found space in the area and put his effort past Village goalkeeper Jason Williams.Village, however, found a route back into the match when referee Martin Wyer called for a penalty which was dually put home by DeGraff.In less than ideal conditions, both sides were left to try and play the ball along the ground, a plan that resulted in a midfield battle for long spells.Village introduced attacking pair Jason Lee and Keishen Bean at the break yet the elements negated the pace and skill those two possess.Wyer awarded a second penalty in the 71st minute, but Zebras keeper Troy Hall was more than up to the task the second time around, saving DeGraff’s shot with minimal fuss.It was then left to Robinson to try his luck from long range.Looking up and noticing Williams off his line, Robinson let fly from the halfway line, and with the wind assisting his effort, beat the Rams keeper to settle matters.Rams will not be hoisting the title they won last year, with the gap between them and the top now ten points with four games to go, while Zebras remain five points back and oozing with confidence heading into the business end of the season.“I saw him cheating off his line a bit, so I took the chance and the elements were in my favour so I happy with how it all went down,” said Robinson on his goal.“The goal kept us in the title race so I’m pleased.“It was important for us to get these points, Town still have to play Village and Cougars and some how things can go in our favour in the run in, we just need to keep within touching distance.“There are a lot of points to get got and hopefully we can pull them closer to us.”PHC: T Hall, R Richardson, C Robinson, R Deshields, T Brown, A Russell, S Smith, K Lambe, L Bascome( D Robinson,90), C Robinson, A Smith(J Sealy,75)Substitutes not used: T Place, D Usher, K Griffith, J DeanGoals: R Deshields,9, C Robinson,83North Village: J Williams, D Grant, J Jennings, K Dill, V Tankard(R Bean,65)L Alexander, S DeGraff, L Dill(J Lee,45), K Dill(K Bean,45), J Davis, D Tankard,Substitutes not used: S Fubler, K Bean, J Lee, P Smith, R Bean, T WatsonYellow card: J LeeGoals: S Degraff,15Referee: M WyerMan of the Match: K Lambe (PHC)