Defending champions Harbour View strengthened their grip on third spot in the Digicel Premier League on Sunday, with a 1-0 win over fifth-place Waterhouse.
The three points, earned courtesy of a clinical strike by Fabian Taylor in the 57th minute – his second in successive weeks – increased Harbour View’s lead over Waterhouse to four points with rounds of games remaining in the season.
Waterhouse stayed in fourth position on 50 points, as Portmore United gained a point on them following their 0-0 draw with Leaders Tivoli Gardens.
While Harbour View were thankful for Taylor’s strike and the excellent cross from midfielder Jermaine Hue that set up the goal, they must have also been happy with Waterhouse’s Rohan Amos’ role in the goal.
The defender, after collecting a ball kept in play by Harbour View’s forward Jahmali Spence, with time on his hands to make a pass or clear the ball up field, tried to dribble past two men and ended up playing it into the path of Jermaine Hue.
He could not have chosen a worst person. Hue accepted it thankfully, dressed it and sent in an inch-perfect cross from the left for Taylor to climb and nod into the left-hand corner of Richard McCallum’s goal. The Waterhouse custodian could do nothing but retrieve the ball from the back of his net.
Devon Haughton, who started in goal for Harbour View, faced no such trouble at his end as the Waterhouse attackers, Andre Clennon and Vincent Earle in particular, conspired to assist him with keeping a clean sheet. The duo, especially Earle, made a number of poor decisions in the Harbour View defensive third, screwing some efforts wide and shooting when passing would have been a better option.
Earle ejected
Earle further let his team down when he was ejected for kicking Marcelino Blackburn for what he deemed a foul. This while his team were still in with a chance of sharing the points and just a minute after an excellent combination down the left flank between himself and Clennon, where a better final delivery might have got them the equaliser.
The final result pleased Harbour View’s head coach Donovan Hayles whose team had lost the previous week to Boys’ Town.
“It was great to see them rise again,” Hayles said, with a smile of satisfaction.
“It is not just about winning silverware but how you perform, and we want to keep it that way for the end of the season and carry that over into next season,” he added.
Waterhouse’s Anthony Patrick felt that his team had opportunities to score but failed to do so, and shot themselves in the foot with a costly defensive error.
“We started out well and created a lot of chances in the first half. We created a number of chances in the second half, but were indecisive in Harbour View’s final third and then a silly mistake put us on the back foot,” a disappointed Patrick said.
Patrick also promised that his team would bounce back.
“We still have a few games left, so we will have to keep our heads up and try to finish on a high,” he said ahead of Wednesday’s game away to Tivoli Gardens.