Boulevard 1 PHC 0

Andrew Bascome got his reign as manager of Boulevard Blazers off to a winning start with this 1-0 win over Premier Division champions PHC Zebras at BAA yesterday.

A stunning goal from Melchisedec Gibbons after just four minutes was enough to settle a rather scrappy affair and give Bascome the perfect start to the season.

The Hamilton club laid down a marker for the year with a display that, while far from dominant, was good enough to suggest that they will be a hard side to beat.

Bascome's influence on the team is immediately becoming apparent. From losing 2-1 to the same opponents in the Martonmere Cup two weeks' ago, he has tightened up the back four and in the Samuels brothers, Jahmah and Jahmarley, has a pair of central defenders who are both good in the air and on the ground.

As a whole the side are well organised, and on more than one occasion beat PHC players to the ball when they really had no right to do so.

For their part, PHC had one of those days when nothing seemed to go right. Passes were miss-hit, over hit, under hit, or just downright wild. When they did put together an attacking move, they were largely reduced to taking pot shots at Randy Broadbelt, the Boulevard goalkeeper, from outside the area.

On the few occasions that they did create an opening, they invariably took the wrong option, shooting early when there was more time, or shooting when the pass would have been the better option.

The closest PHC came was in the first half when Cecoy Robinson put a Chris Furbert free kick just past the far post. In fact, the biggest threat to Boulevard came from their own goalkeeper, Broadbelt.

In the first half, Broadbelt did something hardly ever seen on a football pitch, he caught the ball with his shirt.

The Blazers goalkeeper was too busy taking off his shirt to watch what was going on, and had his arms stuck in the sleeves when a long ball from PHC sailed towards his goal. He caught the ball in his shirt and was immediately booked for 'unsportsmanlike behaviour'.

PHC might feel slightly aggreived that the punishment meted out to Broadbelt was not greater. Referee Leroy Wilson awarded PHC a direct free kick outside the area, when it appeared that Broadbelt had been inside his area when he caught the ball.

In that instance, the free kick should have been indirect and inside the penalty box and if Broadbelt had been outside the area, then he should have been sent off for deliberate handball, and denying PHC a goalscoring opporunity.

Not that Boulevard were much of an attacking threat either. After Gibbons' goal, a 20-yard strike that left PHC goalkeeping Raymond Glasford grasping at thin air, they really only threatened twice more. Once when Gibbons and Dion Stovell created space, only for Takeyhi Walker's weak header to fall safely into Glasford's hands, and then early in the second half a mix-up at the back forced PHC defender Corey Dowling to scramble back and clear the ball off the line.

It would be wrong to judge a season on one game, and for both sides there are plenty of reasons to think that things will get better. On another day, PHC might have torn Boulevard apart – their is enough to suggest their movement up front is good enough, but yesterday they were a little too sluggish against a side that was quicker in almost every department.

For Boulevard, their organisation will be their strength this season, and in Bascome they have a manager who knows how to win.

Boulevard: R.Broadbelt, M.Parsons, Jahmarley Samuels, Jahmah Samuels, R.Trott, D.Taylor (A.Simmons, 46 mins), C.Trott, A.Gibbons (P.Parsons, 54 mins), T.Walker, M.Gibbons, D.Stovell.

PHC: R.Glasford, K.Richards, C.Dowling, B.Bean, I.Barry, K.L.ewis, C.Furbert, J.Raynor, C.Robinson (J.Franklin, 65 mins), C.Castle (K.Lambe, 65 mins) L.Holder (J.Stovell, 65 mins).

Yellow cards: Broadbelt, M.Parsons, P.Parsons (all Boulevard).

Men of the match: Jahmarley Samuels (Boulevard), Chris Furbert (PHC).

Referee: L.Wilson