Southampton Oval 1 PHC 1

PHC Zebras moved ahead of their neighbours Southampton Rangers in the Premier Division when a 75th-minute penalty by captain Cecoy Robinson clinched the three points at Southampton Oval yesterday.

To add some gloss to the victory, PHC achieved it without Quincy Hunt, their regular goalkeeper who was out with the flu, with stand-in Malachi Jones enjoying a steady game between the posts against his former club.

“It was his first game in goal and I said to the players before we left PHC that we have a surprise for Rangers,” Mark Wade, the PHC coach, said. “It turned what could have been a negative thing into something positive.”

“Malachi’s distribution from goal kicks was fantastic, which is something that we didn’t have before. It added something to our play.”

The derby had the best possible start with two goals coming in the first six minutes. Shakir Smith gave PHC the lead after just three minutes when he raced into the box and smashed a shot from an angle over Jason Smith’s shoulder and into the roof of the net.

The lead did not last long, though, as Rangers equalised from the penalty spot after Keedai Astwood had been fouled by Robert Richardson. Dion Stovell did the honours for Rangers, calmly converting to Jones’s left.

“A goal always opens up a game and it opened it up very quickly, but I’m disappointed we gave up a penalty so soon after,” Wade said. “But the players dug deep and we were able to get the three points.”

Both teams battled for a second goal after the early exchanges. PHC had two quick chances to regain the lead when Robinson scooped his effort over the bar at the far post after a corner, then Smith blasted over after using his pace to get into the box.

Midway through the half, PHC’s two dangermen combined to create another good chance, this time Smith hooking his shot over from eight yards after a knockdown by Robinson. McQuinn Burch, the Rangers captain, did the same at the other end from a left-wing corner.

Rangers replaced former PHC striker Stephen Astwood with Reggie Lowe at the start of the second half, but chances continued to be spurned. A good move by Rangers resulted in Stovell laying the ball back into the path of Ezekiel Stoneham, who lifted his effort over from a good position inside the box.

At the other end, Robinson shot over after Johnny Ball’s long ball into the box was miskicked by Kemon Simmons, the full back.

As the match approached its denouement, emotions began to boil over and PHC had strong claims for a penalty turned down when substitute Isaiah Taylor was challenged by Maquel Tankard.

However, a second shout for a penalty soon after was upheld by Leroy Wilson, the referee, when Kamen Tucker was adjudged to have handled inside the box and Robinson easily converted his spot-kick.

Rangers brought on Marvin Belboda, their former coach, for the last 20 minutes and their best chance to snatch a point came minutes later when Stoneham had a header cleared off the line after a corner.

“It’s a derby match and to get three points shows a lot of character by the team,” Wade said. “We’ve always had the unity in the team and it showed today with people willing to work for each other for 90 minutes.

“We should be reasonably comfortable [in the fight to avoid relegation], but we’re still behind Flanagan’s Onions by three points. Right now we’re just looking to survive and get farther distance between us and the teams in the relegation zone.

“We’ll take each match as it comes. We’ve got a couple of injuries to deal with, but we have two weeks to heal and then we’ve got St David’s.”