Supersub Joseph gives PHC that champion feeling
North Village 2 PHC 3
PHC have won the Premier Division title after beating North Village in their winner-takes-all match last night.
After going in at half-time 1-0 down, substitute Joshua Joseph proved the match-winner after scoring two second-half goals before Enrique Russell sealed a thirteenth league title for PHC.
Jalen Harvey had given Village the early lead and Daion Swan-DeSilva’s late goal salvaged hopes that they could get the point, which would have secured the league for Kenny Thompson’s side, who had gone into the game with a point advantage over their rivals.
Joseph, 20, a student at Thomas College in the United States, was making only his fourth appearance for PHC.
“It’s just a great feeling to score two goals to win the league for PHC,’’ Joseph said.
“I was told to just come on and play my game, have fun, and make a difference.
“The team was struggling in the first half and the coach told me to warm-up. I just thought I would just come on and do a job for the team.”
For Quincy Hunt, in his first season as coach after taking over the champions from Winston Trott Jr, felt he was in a dream.
“It feels surreal right now,’’ Hunt told The Royal Gazette. “This is my first year coaching, my first time at it. I give credit to my team, my coaching staff and the executive. They put all the work in and made my job easier.
“It was a great game with two teams battling for the title and It was a magnificent game.”
On his team’s first-half display, Hunt felt anxiety almost caused their demise.
“We had to settle down and take our time,’’ he said. “Maybe we were a little bit too anxious as this was a title game.
“They wanted it too bad, so we told them to settle down, relax and it worked out.
“These guys have proved it to me all season. We've been in these type of situations before and we've done it.
“Sometimes you need impact off the bench and that’s what Josh did. All the substitutes we made it was all impact players.”
Daren Usher, the PHC captain, dedicated the league victory to his predecessor Marco Warren.
“It’s an amazing feeling,’’ Usher said. “We did it last year and this is back to back. We've been playing for Marco all season and it’s a real feeling to do it again for him.
“We've made it a habit of winning titles and want to keep going, especially for ourselves and Marco, the fans and everybody.
“To come from behind, we know the game’s not won in the first five minutes. It takes 90 minutes and we stuck in there, we dug in and got the win in the end, that’s the most important thing.
“Probably first-half jitters as it’s a young team. A lot of these guys haven’t been here and some guys haven't even played at the national stadium.”
Thompson was disappointed to miss out after going into the final game in pole position and blamed the defeat on a lapse in concentration.
“It’s disappointing,’’ Thompson said. “We had to play well to win the game. I thought for that period in the second half we lost a bit of focus. We lost a little bit of grind and the game was turned around in their favour.”
Village went into the game at the Flora Duffy Stadium knowing that a point would be enough for them to win the crown.
Four minutes into the title decider, Harvey gave Village the brilliant start when he rose high in the PHC box to nod in a Troy Tucker free kick.
Joseph was introduced for the struggling Keishon Bean eight minutes into the second half and he levelled matters just four minutes later when he outfoxed the Village defence to get the ball into the net.
Russell came close to scoring in the 62nd minute but his effort came off the crossbar before PHC took the lead when Usher crossed for Joseph to strike with great precision beyond the reach of Detre Bell.
Russell made it 3-1 in the 77th minute after hesitation from the Village defence allowed the striker thump the ball into the net. The goalscorer removed his shirt to reveal a Warren tribute and earned himself a yellow card from referee Cecile Hinds.
With a two-goal deficit to wipe out, Village were given some glimmer of hope when Swan-DeSilva poked the ball in from close range with ten minutes remaining and substitute Jai Bean had a final chance to win the title but he could not keep down his header from a Tucker free kick.
PHC
Goalkeeper
Quinaceo Hunt
Hesitated coming for the diagonal cross and failed to extend arms to collect the ball on the first goal. 6
Defenders
Daren Usher
Captain conceded unnecessary free kick which led to the opening goal. Improved in the second half. 6
Diondre Dowling
Solid defending throughout. He was the only bright spark in his team’s below-par first half. 7
Jaylon Bather
Should have done better on the cross that led to the opening goal but teamed well with Dowling to stop Village attacks. 6
Midfielders
Deandre Smith-Lightbourne
Held his own under constant threats on his side. 6
De-aun Lodge
Holding midfielder who took a while to settle then held his own. 6
Kadeem Abraham
Team player dropped back in the first half to allow Dowling to push forward and attempt some penetrating diagonal passes. 6
Jahiem Iris
Helped to settle midfield after going ahead. 6
Forwards
Keishon Bean
Never settled with a weak first touch. No attacking contribution and was justly substituted. 5
T’ysi Showers
Too many negative touches. 5
Enrique Russell
Only settled down in the second half and became the threatening player he is known to be. Rattled the crossbar with a scorcher free kick and capitalised on the Joseph build-up to score the winner. 7
Substitutes
Joshua Joseph
Man with the golden touch. Everything he touched, turned into goal. Scored the first two and set up the third. Was his moment to shine and he did! Say no more. 9
Caleb McDowall
Made some forceful runs down the flank but lacked that final touch. 5
Jayden Ebbin
Came on Iris in the 86th minute.
North Village
Goalkeeper
Detre Bell
Not called on to do much in the first half and had little chance with the three goals. 5
Defenders
Kyler Knights
As solid as he was in the first half, his game fell apart during the critical part of the match. 5
Terryn Fray
Combined a mistake-free first half with a less-than-desired second period. Lack of pace exposed. 5
Jalen Harvey
The only member of the defence to put together two halves of proper defending, while also sparking North Village to an early advantage. 7
Khimo Harrison
Played within his capabilities and helped to stifle PHC throughout the first half. 5
Midfielders
Liam Evans
Holding midfielder was smart in his role of gaining possession and releasing to the more skilful, attack-minded Daion Swan-DeSilva. 6
Troy Tucker
Made telling cross that resulted in first goal from Harvey. Disappeared in the second half. 6
Daion Swan-DeSilva
Teenage sensation lived up to his billing as team’s creative genius with skills, vision and unselfish manner. 7
Tahmi Williams
Quiet first half on the right side of midfield and continued ineffectiveness led to his substitution. 5
Jordan Outerbridge
Was part of the left side attack that pressured PHC early, but faded in the second half and was replaced by Tre Ming. 6
Striker
Jaizel Smith-DeShields
Left largely on an island up front and forced to toil for little reward. Replaced by Jai Bean in 63rd minute. 5
Substitutes
Jai Bean
Replaced Smith-DeShields as leader of the attack early in the second half, but failed to make a significant impact. 5
Tre Ming
Came on in 71st minute.
Jayden Ebbin
Came on in 71st minute.
• Ratings by Patrick Bean and Anthony Mouchette
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