Southampton Rangers 0 PHC 4

Premier Division leaders PHC never looked in danger of being on the wrong end of a cup upset as they easily beat First Division Southampton Rangers at Southampton Oval on Saturday afternoon.

PHC were always in control in what proved a one-sided FA Cup first-round encounter, with Keishon Bean and a penalty from Enrique Russell putting the away side 2-0 in front at half time.

Southampton never looked like mounting a fightback and PHC went 3-0 in front just four minutes after the restart when Jayden Ebbin finished off a well-worked team goal, with Yeshai Burgess rounding off the scoring in the 89th minute.

The defending Premier Division champions made a statement start, knocking the ball around quickly confidently with Rangers scrambling to stay compact amid the spaces being made by their opponents’ intelligent movement.

PHC’s impressive start was punctuated by their opening goal, which came in the sixth minute when T’syi Showers spread the play for skipper Daren Usher, whose cutback was later played forward by Jayden Ebbin to Keishon Bean, who clipped his finish over the outstretched arms of goalkeeper Akale Bean.

Thereafter, it was a matter of how many, rather than if, PHC were going to score with Rangers goalkeeper Bean making a string of saves from his namesake, Showers and Kadeem Abraham before he was beaten from the penalty spot.

Just under ten minutes before half-time, Showers played a beautiful through ball to Enrique Russell and he chipped his effort over the advancing Bean, but the Rangers goalkeeper clattered into the forward. Canadian referee Yusri Rudolf signalled for a penalty and Russell dusted himself off to finish calmly.

Zebras had a third goal disallowed just on the stroke of 45 minutes, when Abraham’s pinpoint cross was headed in by skipper Daren Usher at the far post, but the right-back was ruled offside.

PHC’s dominant display continued through the second half with the the game ending as a contest when Showers’s effort was well saved by Bean before Ebbin dribbled into space through a few defenders and fired into the far post.

Rangers knew their last real hope was to drive long passes forward to Malachi Jones and hope the midfield could get high enough to support him, but this was largely nullified by the solid communication from PHC’s backline and a strong midfield structure in front of that.

Zebras made it four two minutes from time when Jayden Belboda-Reveneau looked for fellow sub Ryan Hassell, who missed his kick, but the loose ball fell for Yeshai Burgess to fire a neat daisy-cutter hard and low into the near post.

PHC head coach Quincy Hunt recognised the importance of the match.

“It was a derby match,” Hunt said. “We just wanted to advance. We kept the ball a bit better and moved the ball a lot quicker.”

SCORERS

PHC Zebras: Bean 6, Russell 38 pen, Ebbin 49, Burgess 88

TEAMS

Southampton Rangers (4-1-4-1): A Bean 7 – J Hill 5, R Wright 5, R Cann 5, D Hill 5 (sub: K Douglas, 57min 5) – D Steede 5 (sub: N Ray-Georges, 67 4) – M Zyon-Ray 5, Z Smith 5 (sub: S Samuels, 57 5), J Bean 5, R Lowe 5 – M Jones 5.

PHC Zebras (4-2-3-1): S Trott 6 – D Usher 6, N Furbert 6, A Astwood 6, K Abraham 7 – D Lodge 6 (sub: J Belboda-Reveneau, 75), T Showers 6 – J Sealey 6 (sub: Y Burgess 75), K Bean 7 (sub: R Simmons, 59 5), J Ebbin 6 (sub: M Simmons, 75) – E Russell (sub: R Hassell 59 5). Substitutes not used: Q Hunt, D Smith-Lightbourne. Booked: Lodge

Referee: Y Rudolf (Canada)