PHC will pounce if Village slip up Russell
PHC striker Antwan Russell insists his side will not be taking St. George's Colts lightly when the two teams lock horns at Southampton Rangers tomorrow as Zebras look to keep pace with league leaders North Village.Russell believes Village's confidence could have taken a dent with their slip up against Dandy Town in the FA Cup replay earlier this week and wants PHC to capitilise on any physcological damage in the Rams ranks.PHC would go top of the table if they win against Colts and Village lose to Somerset Eagles at Bernard Park tomorrow.“Our thing is that Village got a bad result getting knocked out of the FA Cup this week and now is a good time to try and take advantage of any psychological damage that they may have,” said Russell.“A lot of our players have been playing in the PDL Christmas Tournament to keep match fitness so we won't have any problems with fitness and not being ready, we just need be ready to play on the day.”Russell, however, believes PHC cannot go getting ahead of themselves and must focus on claiming victory over St. George's who have been the surprise package so far this season.“We're looking to win this weekend, obviously you have to take every game on its merit and this one is no different,” said Russell. “St. George's have been the surprise team this year, and it will be a hard game, but I think that if we stick to our game plan we should come out with the three points.”PHC were hit by three suspensions over the Christmas break, with the Bermuda Football Association (BFA) handing out bans to Jevon Sealey and Cecoy Robinson as well as coach Kyle Lightbourne for their involvement in incidents during a Dudley Eve game against Dandy Town in October.Admitting the rulings will force a shuffle of the line-up, Russell believes the depth in the squad will allows for others to step in and fill voids.“The suspensions won't really affect us as we have a deep squad and quality on the bench. So it may not be a major blow to us but we have to put that to the back of minds so it doesn't lurk in the thoughts before the game.“We have bounced back after the loss to Village and it's always a bonus to get off to a good start when you kick back into the season considering that we did go on a mini slump for a period. But we need to continue to apply the pressure in order to become champions.”Devonshire Cougars showdown with Southampton Rangers at Devonshire Rec. has been moved to Monday night due to a shortage of referees, with kick off scheduled for 8pm.Elsewhere tomorrow, Devonshire Colts begin their long string of home fixtures when they welcome Boulevard to Police Field, while the other match of the day will see defending champions Town travel to Lords to clash with St. David's.All matches kick-off at 3pm.
