Relegation-stationed Rivoli United FC and top-four seekers Harbour View FC drew 1-1 in a Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) third-round Monday night game at the Harbour View Mini-stadium.
Rivoli United, sitting at 11th on the 12-team standing, drew first blood through Lenworth Pine in the 34th minute. Brian Brown equalised for Harbour View in the 58th minute. The result did very little to aid either team’s upward mobility but, despite the unfavourable result, a point is always preferable to a defeat.
Harbour View’s Head Coach Ludlow Bernard was nonetheless blunt with his disappointment. “Not getting full points tonight was very disappointing. We came here knowing although we were not at full strength we had the ammunition to go out there and do some serious damage. We held back our efforts until late and even then with the favourable opportunities that we created I thought that we could have done much better than a point, as at the end of the day it is three points that count. Hitting the crossbar and hitting the upright is not going to make it and as such we have to rebound. We are harbouring the ambitious thought of progressing to the top four places and this is not beyond us,” Bernard said.
Rivoli United Head Coach Bradley Stewart was surprised at taking a point against Harbour View. “Having played against Arnett Gardens, the second-best team in the country, you felt that you really had the capabilities to play against anybody. And what that means is that we can be a little more tactical about the things that we do against the other teams that are not as sturdy or as gifted as are Arnett. So, taking a point here serves a purpose even though we did not win the game. We did not lose it. So we can now look to be more tactical [with] how we organise ourselves on the pitch [and] with what we do and this game was a good example,” Stewart pointed out.
It was a game in which Rivoli United dominated the first half and Harbour View the second and both were rewarded with a goal for their industry. However, Harbour View could be considered the less fortunate having come closest to scoring their second goal of the match in the second half with Stephen Barnett, who came on as a second-half substitute, striking the framework twice, minutes apart.
It was a period when Harbour View threw everything at the visitors by laying siege to their goal area for the go-ahead goal. However, that was not to be and once again a tenacious Rivoli United picked up another valuable point away from home — as they did against second-placed team Arnett Gardens a week ago — that could help them escape the guillotine.
Harbour View had earlier profited from one of these raids. John-Ross Edwards found an unmarked Brian Brown on the edge of the six-yard box to slot home past goalkeeper Marlon Henry. This was after Pine had scored the opening goal for Rivoli United by surprising everybody with a low and powerful right-footed shot that flew past goalkeeper Mark Bryan from 30 yards.
Teams
Harbour View FC – Mark Bryan, Fabian Grant (Thorne Buchanan 89th), Rosario Harriott, Ian Goodison, Montrose Phinn, Mark Miller, Rojay Smith, Bryan English (Tyreek Magee 73rd), John-Ross Edwards, Claudious Blackburn (Stephen Barnett 65th), Brian Brown
Subs not used: Devon Haughton, Ranique Muir, Tevin Scott, Ahmarde Duncombe
Booked: Edwards (40th)
Rivoli United FC – Marlon Henry, Liston James (Dellon Dixon 69th), Shaun Hinds (Owen Walters 90th+3) Jeremy Nelson, Kemar Bennett, Kevin Graham, Valentine Gardner, Lenworth Pine, Ross Burton, Nicholas Scott, Daniel Roberts (Rajay Sutherland 79th)
Subs not used: Levor Williams, Ackeem Cole, Richard Reid, Kenny Lee
Booked: Graham (24th)
Referee: Oshane Nation
Assistant Referees: Richard Washington, Stacy-Ann Grayson
Fourth Official: Karl Tyrell
Match Commissioner: Fitzroy Reid
Source: The Jamaica Observer