Harbour View continued their good run in the Red Stripe Premier League football competition with a 2-0 victory over Sporting Central Academy at Brancourt on Sunday courtesy of a first-half brace by Donovan Edwards.
The hard-running forward opened the scoring in the 14th minute when Sporting’s goalkeeper Shanchez Lloyd misjudged a tame shot by Edwards, which he thought was going out but ended up rolling into the goal.
Edwards doubled the score in the 39th minute following a good build-up, which set him clear on goal. Edwards made no mistake from the edge of the six-yard box, beating Lloyd at the near post.
It was a good, workmanlike display from the ‘Stars of the East’ who impressed with some patient possession football. Harbour View showed more fight and took charge of the midfield led by Evan Taylor, who showed true class when making some slick passes and crucial tackles.
Tireless running
However, it was Joel Senior, with his tireless running on the right flank – both in attack and defence – who created a big impact on the game that even earned him the admiration of the Sporting supporters.
Senior was playing in his first game for the year after being out for a month with a bruised instep, which he sustained in the first match of second round against Montego Bay United.
The ponytailed player said he was happy for the victory.
“I feel great that we’ve kept a good lead over Portmore United who are second, we just need to keep focused and keep chipping away at it,” Senior said.
He said that he felt good coming into the game after returning from injury.
“I felt great coming into the game today. During my time off I did a lot of gym work, a lot of physical training, so was I feeling good.”
Senior is from Spanish Town in St Catherine. He attended Harrison Prep in the parish, then St George’s College, where he played Colts football. He migrated shortly after to the United States, where he finished his high-school education at Carol High in Washington DC.
He then attended Howard University, where he spent two years, before moving to James Morris University, where he completed a degree in sports and recreation management.
After leaving college, where he impressed playing on the college circuit, he decided to return to Jamaica, the place of his birth, where he joined Harbour View Football Club.
“I returned last July because I wanted to get involved with the national team and so far it has worked out for me,” Senior explained.
The 25-year-old made his Reggae Boy debut in a game against Cuba and has not looked back since, with national head coach Theodore Whitmore making him a core member of his squad that will figure in the upcoming qualifiers for the World Cup finals in Brazil.