Dandy Town 2 PHC 0Dandy Town kept alive their slim title aspirations with a hard-fought victory over PHC Zebras at St. John’s Field yesterday.The win lifts Town into –second place in the Premier Division, four points behind league leaders North Village with two matches of the season remaining.Hornets defender Kamen Tucker and PHC striker Aquino Grant were both sent off for fighting each other late in the second half.For Hornets, the victory serves a well-timed confident boost ahead of their important CFU Club Championships first leg qualifier against Trinidad’s Defence Force later this week.Both Hornets and PHC created plenty of scoring chances during an entertaining first half yesterday, but it was the hosts who were by far and away the more clinical in front of goal.Damon Ming, Hornets’ captain, gave his team the perfect start when he finished smartly past PHC goalkeeper Raymond Glasford from close range in the third minute.Wolde Place, who was handed a rare start in the absence of key front man Raymond Beach, then added a second on 23 minutes with a first time volley from a Fabian Frankson left wing cross.PHC, on the other hand, squandered a pair of gilt-edge first half chances with Aquino Grant firing against the bar from just a few yards out, while strike partner Antwan Russell pulled a glorious one-on-one opportunity wide when bearing down on Glasford’s goal.In the second period, scoring opportunities for both teams were few and far between although PHC substitute Cofield Robinson did finish past Hornets keeper Treadwell Gibbons only to see his goal disallowed when the assistant referee raised his flag, very late, for offside.Seconds before the final whistle, substitute Heys Wolfe should have scored a third for Hornets when, with just the keeper to beat, he somehow got the ball trapped under his feet affording PHC’s defenders precious time to deal with the danger.Hornets coach Jomar Wilkinson praised his team for their battling performance and urged them to show a similar workaholic attitude against Defence Force at BAA Field on Thursday night.“I was pleased with our performance, I felt we kept possession well,” said Wilkinson. “We showed plenty of character and determination and we knew it was important to win regardless of how Village got on against St. David’s. This win should give us some more confidence for when we play Defence Force. The only sour note was the sending off. I thought maybe the referee could have nipped that in the bud a little earlier.”Dandy Town: T Gibbons, K Tucker, G Dyer, F Frankson, S Darrell, J Peniston, J Swan, D Ming, L Dill (J Butterfield, 82), W Place, R Wells (H Wolfe, 80)Subs not used: T Manders, T Daniels, S Tuzo, A LightbourneRed card: TuckerPHC: R Glasford, Cecoy Robinson, D Johnson (O Shakir, 50), K Griffith, R Richardson, M Lambe (Cofield Robinson, 75), B Bean, C Furbert, T Ming, A. Grant, A Russell (K Lightbourne, 80)Substitutes not used: S Trott, S Philpott, G Russell, Q BurgessRed card: GrantReferee: A MouchetteMan of the match: J Swan (Hornets)