PHC Zebras 1

Devonshire Cougars 1

Kyle Lightbourne's last gasp equaliser at Southampton Oval yesterday handed the Premier Division championship to PHC Zebras for the first time in eight seasons.

Zebras player/coach Lightbourne headed past his former national side team-mate Dwayne (Streaker) Adams in the 82nd minute to earn his team the valuable point needed to give PHC the title outright - and move them level with Somerset Trojans for the most overall Premier League championships (nine).

Lightbourne's gamble to bring himself and Aquino Grant on as second-half subs paid huge dividends as the duo combined to deliver the goods at the death after Zebras were twice denied by the upright and the brilliance of the acrobatic Adams.

Given just enough time and space on the right flank, Grant's measured cross was met by the head of former pro Lightbourne who turned back the clock with a goal he later described as "one of my best".

"It's definitely up there," Lightbourne smiled, after landing his first league title as a coach.

A second league loss of the season to North Village the previous weekend left Zebras with a bit of work to do on the final day of the 2007-08 league season - a task made all the more difficult by the gigantic voids created by the omission of key defender Kevin Richards (work commitments) and striker Raynel (Manga) Lightbourne (suspended).

But having won multiple league and cup honours as a player at PHC before embarking on a pro career in England where he was nicknamed 'Killer', player/coach Lightbourne was more than equal to the task.

"Sammy (Swan) said to me 'you might have to put your boots on to win the league' and I had a long, hard think about it all week after the Village defeat," he said. "All we needed today was someone with a little experience to take the sting out of the game and get the goal when we needed it most. And I had to bring myself on because we were losing."

Zebras fell behind after only seven minutes to Domico Coddington's 35-yard free kick that skidded inside the near post and were fortunate not to fall further in arrears when Cougars captain Kwame Steede had a goal ruled offside and Lamont Brangman grazed the upright from the top of the 18-yard box.

The champions-elect also had their chances after nuetralising Cougars' midfield, with skipper Chris Furbert and defender Omar Shakir both slapping shots off the post as desperation began to set in the Zebras' camp and Steede's pre-match prediction of an "upset" appearing imminent.

But cometh the hour, cometh the man and in Lightbourne, Zebras finally found their Messiah, both as a tactician and a finisher who doesn't leave much scraps on the plate when it comes to banging them in.

"I took a risk and took a defender (Dano Outerbridge) off and brought on another forward (Grant) along with myself ,and it worked," Lightbourne said. "Our whole season has been based on getting crosses in and Aquino (Grant) came on and put in a wonderful cross.

"That's what I got paid to do in England and today I scored to help deliver a championship to this team. It was just a matter of someone having a little bit of confidence to stick the ball in the back of the net. That's all we needed."

Grant was no less of a hero, feeding his famous coach with a well-directed cross after creating space for himself on the right flank.

"Kyle always likes to bring me on to inject life into the team - and that's what I did today. I had plenty of time and acres of space and was able to find the man himself, Kyle Lightbourne."

Zebras assistant coach Jack Castle said he always felt it was "only a matter of time" before his team would get the vital goal needed to wrest the title.

"We put ourselves in a bad position by losing last week to Village," he said. "But I knew we could pull it off today.

"We created plenty of opportunities but just couldn't put it away. But I knew we could score and eventually Kyle came through for us."

Zebras president Chris Furbert hailed his club's most recent success before challenging them to aspire to even greater heights with a potential first triple crown in nearly four decades well within reach.

"I just want to congratulate the coaching staff and of course the team who have played well," he said. "They have been consistent all season long and today was the culmination of their dedication and commitment."

PHC: R.Glasford, M.Waldron (J.Almeida, 84 mins), O.Shakir, D.Outerbridge (K.Lightbourne, 55 mins), C.Dowling, J.Ball, C.Furbert (capt), B.Bean, D.Russell, K.Lewis, C.Robinson (A.Grant, 70 mins).

Devonshire Cougars: D.Adams, J.DeShields (R.Brangman, 89 mins), D.Cox, I.Mallory, J.Butterfield, R.Robinson, A.Gibbons, L.Brangman (S.Pearman, 77 mins), K.Steede (capt), D.Coddington, K.Goddard.

Yellow card: L.Brangman (Cougars).

Men of the match: M.Waldron (PHC); D.Adams (Cougars).

Referee: George O'Brien.