Where they failed in the first round, Harbour View succeeded in the second by winning the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) second end-of-round final, and in a convincing fashion.
Goals by Joel Senior in the 16th minute and Jermaine Hue in the 45th ensured that Harbour View, dubbed the ‘Stars of the East’, were the real stars of the east as they defeated the other east Kingston-based RSPL team comfortably. The victory made sure Harbour View bettered their performance of the first end-of-round final, when they were beaten by Boys’ Town.
“I am very pleased with this performance,” a beaming head coach Vin Blaine said after claiming his first title as coach of the team he co-founded. He took over as head coach in the off season.
“The difference between this final and the first round one is that a number of the players who played this evening were not involved then and they really came out and played some good football,” he continued.
Harbour View were totally dominant as they took the action to a tentative Cavalier, as Evan Taylor bossed the midfield and reminded of the reasons why former technical director, Rene Simoes, selected him in 2008 to be part of the 2010 World Cup campaign. Taylor was all action, breaking up attacks and creating opportunities.
For Cavalier, only goalkeeper Gariece McPherson and midfielder Jeffrey Henry seemed able to cope with the Harbour View players. Girvon Brown did not look himself, while Fabian Nethersole added life when he entered the field.
“We would have been satisfied with another goal, but two goals in the end-of-round final is good. I am happy with the result and I am hoping that this will be a good fillip into the third round,” Blaine said of his team which currently enjoys an eight-point lead at the top of the table and harbour thoughts of going all the way.
Cavalier’s David Laylor was disappointed, but positive.
“No one would be happy with losing any game, but getting to the final was good for us,” said Laylor.
His team, he said, suffered from their slow start.
“We started out slowly and gave up two soft goals, but we made some adjustments in the second half.
“That (improved performance) is good for our self-belief and what we have to do now is to keep focused. We have demonstrated that self-belief in the second round and we need to continue that in the third round,” Laylor explained.
If Cavalier are to make a mark in the rest of the competition, Laylor acknowledged that they will have to recruit talent before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. New signings at the club are national representative and former Arnett Gardens player Rohan Reid, and Richard White, a forward from England.
“He (White) is a goalscorer and we could use that. (Claudious) Blackburn has been scoring goals for us, but he needs help. We need to score more goals. Goals win matches,” Laylor stated.
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HVIEW SINK HAPLESS CAVALIER FOR ROUND FINAL HONOURS
BY HOWARD WALKER Observer staff reporter [email protected]
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
HARBOUR View went one better and captured the Red Stripe Premier League Second End-of-Round final with a clinical 2-0 beating of Cavalier on Monday night, and thus pocketed $250,000.
Goals by Reggae Boyz Joel Senior and Jermaine Hue in the 16th and 45th minutes, respectively, were enough to see off a Cavalier team that rarely threatened in the final third.
Harbour View, who lost the First End-of-Round final to Boys’ Town and now hold an eight-point lead atop of the league standing, outplayed their opponent and were deserved winners.
Head coach Vinimore ‘Vin’ Blaine was satisfied with his team’s dominant display and thought they could have scored a few more.
“This game the guys came out and played some very good football, passing the ball around and two goals…I will be satisfied with that. But I think we could have gotten a couple more. I was looking for at least one more in the second half but 2-0 and winning the End-of-Round final is good enough for me,” said Blaine.
Cavalier, who made a return to topflight football after an 18-year absence and surprisingly reached the final, collected $150,000 for the losing effort.
Head coach David Lalor believes his team started out slowly and conceded two soft goals and was always playing catch-up thereafter.
“We made some adjustments in the second half and had a better run, but we were just unable to score,” said Lalor.
He continued: “For us, we saw some strengths and weaknesses in the team and we now know how to put our best football forward going into the third round. This is very encouraging for us going into the third round, knowing that we came out on top in the second round and the players believe in themselves and it is for us now to keep our focus.”
The final, played at the Waterhouse Mini-Stadium, wasn’t the biggest of crowds, mainly because Harbour View and Cavalier don’t really have a huge fan base.
At the kick-off, Cavalier actually bossed possession early on, looking sharp and quicker to the ball than Harbour View.
But in the 16th minute, Evan Taylor, the Fruta Man-of-the-Match, provided a 30-metre defence-splitting pass which Joel Senior latched onto before calmly chipping over the advancing Gariece McPherson in goal.
Then on the stroke of half-time, Taylor, formerly of Reno, was at it again, intercepting a pass before releasing Donovan Edwards down the right flank, and his cross found an unmarked Hue at the back post, and his low shot took a slight deflection on its way in to the side netting.
Cavalier brought on the lively Fabian Nethersole, Chevonne Marsh and Mitchily Waul in pursuit of goals, but that never materialised, as Harbour View, led by Montrose Phinn, Christopher Harvey and Jaron Richards at the back, were never really tested.