Dandy Town 1

PHC 2

A comical own-goal by Hornets' skipper Dennis Zuill helped PHC progress to the semi-final of the Martonmere Cup at Devonshire Rec. last night.

The defender got all in a tangle when attempting a goal-line clearance, booting into the net after Zebras' Aquino Grant had rounded the keeper before fluffing his own shot at the empty net.

Kyle Lightbourne's side almost took the lead earlier in the first half when Cecoy Robinson hammered against the crossbar from inside the box. But Dandy Town fought back in the second period with Lloyd Holder finishing well after latching on to a through ball over the top.

Holder took one touch on his thigh before thumping the ball past Raymond Glasford to give the scoreline parity. However, substitute Jonathan Ball scrambled home a late corner to give Zebras their first win of the season, and condemn Dandy Town to their first defeat.

The Hornets had already qualified for the last four before last night's loss.

Kyle Lightbourne praised the Zebras' defence for limiting free-scoring Hornets to few scoring opportunities.

"I was happy with the way we played and thought we were well worth the win," he said. "Dandy Town are a good team and have scored a lot of goals of late so we knew, first and foremost, we had to defend well.

"We set our stall out to not be beaten and I'm pleased with our unbeaten start to the season. In fairness, we lost only two games during the second half of last season so we've become hard to beat."

And Lightbourne conceded that his side's opener had been somewhat fortuitous. "Aquino Grant made a bit of hash of a great chance and fortunately the ball still ended up in the back of the net," the coach said.