Devonshire Colts 2 –PHC Zebras 1

Two goals by substitute Andre Famous killed off jaded league leaders PHC Zebras in this Premier Division clash at Police Field yesterday.

The forward came off the bench for Aaron Calderon after just 17 minutes but didn't deliver the killing blows until the second half, the first coming after 53 minutes and the second after 81 minutes.

The only real joy for Zebras, who had been unbeaten in all competitions, came right at the end when Chris Furbert scored with a sizzling free kick from 19 yards, but this goal in injury time proved to be too late to restore any hope for the top side.

Famous wasn't required to do anything spectacular for his two goals as each came from the generosity of centre-back Robert Richardson who probably will never have another day of horror as blatant as this one.

He helped to break the deadlock of an undistinguished game to that point when he astonishingly delayed his clearance enabling the eager Famous to gain position and score from close range.

Then after 81 minutes the second goal was even more horrendous when the same defender screwed things up again and allowed Famous to intercept his intended pass to goalkeeper Raymond Glasford and put Colts two goals up.

The victory is said to be the first in 18 consecutive league fixtures for Colts dating back to last season and one could see the obvious delight on the faces of both players and fans when it was all over.

But while Colts will no doubt be inspired by the win coach Keishon Smith must remind them that they still have plenty of work to do because much of their success came about because of inept defending by their opponents rather than any spectacular play by the home side.

For PHC coach Kyle Lightbourne a nightmare unfolded for his side as losing to the bottom team was something they nor their fans could have ever imagined.

They were substandard throughout, making too many basic errors in defence and lacking any real momentum in the middle or up front.

From the outset it became evident that consistent indecision in defence would cost PHC as Colts' attack was able to advance deep without much sweat.

PHC though were the first to show any real scoring desire with Stevie Astwood forcing goalkeeper Jason Wade to dive full length to turn his 20-yard shot around the post for a corner after 19 minutes.

Colts fought back and Zuri Darrell placed his angled shot from 18 yards on the right narrowly wide of the far post after 24 minutes.

But play was dull for the remainder of the half though Cecoy Robinson of PHC and Eurique Wilkin of Colts fired long-range shots which were barely off target.

The second half was to come alive with Colts taking the early lead after 53 minutes.

PHC really had pressure applied on their shoulders when Mikey Lambe received a red card from referee George O'Brien for allegedly using foul language at a fan.

PHC though refused to let Colts take full advantage of the man advantage and held their own for a long period though a second error by Richardson let the home side in again for a second goal.

Substitute Lloyd Holder missed a golden chance for PHC after 86 minutes by placing a ball over from 10 yards but Furbert came through with a consolation goal right at the end for the visitors to gain a small bit of satisfaction in the term of preventing a shutout in the contest.

Devonshire Colts: J.Wade; V.Lambe (C.Trott, 77 min), J.Butterfield, S.Perinchief, T.Foote; E.Wilkin, Z.Darrell, M.Burch, C.Myles; A.Calderon (A.Famous, 19 min), M.Pace (M.Piper, 67 min). Subs not used: K.Jones, B.Robinson, N.Bascome, R.Simmons.

PHC: R.Glasford; M.Lambe, O.Shakir, R.Richardson, B.Bean; S.Astwood, C.Furbert, J.Rayner; C.Castle (L.Holder, 73 min), K.Lambe (F.Frankson, 68 min), C.Robinson. Subs not used: K.Griffith, J.Sealey, Q.Burgess, J.Franklin, D.Wilson.

Scorers: A.Famous 2 (Devonshire); C.Furbert (PHC).

Red Cards: M.Lambe (PHC)

Yellow Cards: A.Famous, S.Perinchief (Devonshire); C.Robinson (PHC).

Referee: George O'Brien

Man of the match: E.Wilkin (Devonshire).