North Village face a stern test in their quest to pick up a first league win of the season tonight when they head west to take on PHC.

The champions have endured a difficult start to their title defence.

Defeat by Devonshire Colts at home in a controversially explosive first day of the league season was followed by successive 1-1 draws with Devonshire Cougars and surprise package X-Roads Warriors.

At PHC Stadium tonight (8pm), they face an equally struggling PHC side who have collected only four points. Cecoy Robinson’s team could not build on the 1-0 victory over St George’s Colts, as they lost 3-0 to X-Roads and then left it late to draw 1-1 with Dandy Town.

Calvin Dill Jr, the Village coach, wants to put an end to his team’s failure to preserve leads, something that has happened on two consecutive occasions.

“We’ve been scoring first and just letting in goals late in the game,” Dill told The Royal Gazette.

“It’s something that we have worked on this week, trying to stop the goals from getting in; get our goals and prevent them from scoring.

“There isn’t any panic on our side at the moment. We’re just going about our business as we did last year; just hoping to get it together sooner rather than later.

“As the season goes on, we get stronger and we pick our points and the other teams might be dropping points.”

With six of the past seven league titles shared between PHC and Village, any fixture involving the two is expected to bring out the best in both sets of players.

Last season, PHC dominated their rivals, with a 1-1 draw at home and then a 4-1 victory at Bernard Park. By the time they suffered that defeat on the last day of the season, Village had already wrapped up the title.

“We could have won that game at PHC, and the game at Bernard Park didn't mean much to us,” the Village coach said.

“On Saturday, we’re looking to go out and play some good, exciting football and come away with a win.

“We are going there prepared for the 90 minutes-plus and take what’s given to us.”

Dill, who is back in the dugout after missing the match against X-Roads through suspension, has to do without the injured trio of Judah Chapman, Jordan Outerbridge and Kiuno Cann.

All three goals scored by Village this season have come from Jonté Smith. The forward’s combination with the likes of Amir Dill and London Steede-Jackson could prove problematic for the PHC backline.

Daren Usher, the PHC captain, remains a doubt after being substituted early during the Dudley Eve Trophy semi-final loss to Cougars on Wednesday.

Enrique Russell has proved to be a fighter when leading the PHC attack, as he showed with a late strike to force the Cougars tie into penalties.

Colts coach Ray Jones is looking to build on his team’s 3-2 triumph over Cougars in the derby against a St George’s side motivated by securing a spot in the first final of the season.

“I’m expecting a difficult match, as they are on a high having just progressed to the Dudley Eve Trophy final,” Jones said.

“We are looking to put in a better performance than last week; hopefully, that will result in a positive outcome for us.”

X-Roads have a chance to maintain their positive start to the season against fellow promoted side Boulevard, who have picked up only a point this season, but have a game in hand. Also seeking to preserve their unbeaten status are Town when they take on Paget Lions.

Meanwhile, the match between Cougars and Young Men’s Social Club, which was meant to be played last night at Devonshire Rec, has been rescheduled to Monday at 8pm.