The “Stars of the East” shone brightly on Sunday in Portland as the sustained attacking reaped wealthy rewards and accounted for two strikes, one in each half by new signee Denzil Watson and then Captain, Jermaine Hue.
Finally getting accustomed to the cross island trip, rest and performance under the heavy wet playing surface with good opposition from a motivated team, was resolved as the concentrated effort bore fruit.
Early advances were blunted by strong tackles in and around the penalty area one of which on Jermaine Hue by two defenders from either side drew the attention of the Referee, but no penalty. Two other similar offences against Lovel Palmer and Denzil Watson, in the second half also were not awarded as the official waved play on, much to the surprise of the traveling Harbour View supporters.
Lance Laings’ searching left-footed cross was met at the far post by Watson but his one time volley sailed over the crossbar.
Kavin Bryan dribbled into the box but kicked wide from the left, he returned later as Hue released him through the centre but his flicked attempt flew high. His best effort was when he wormed his way pass the goalkeeper but tapped tamely and the diving defender turned it round the post before crashing into the upright, delaying the game for six minutes as he received treatment.
When Palmer was hit from behind on the left, Hue stroked a curling kick to the far post as Palmer ran towards it carrying two defenders but as it sailed overhead Watson once again pounced and this time, skillfully hit the mark in the 32nd minute to lead.
The dominance continued into the second half and Marcelino Blackburn was pushed from behind just outside the area after five minutes. Hue was not in the mood for entertaining responses as he struck a venomous free-kick into the back of the net, leaving the homesters dumb-struck as the 2-0 scoreline sunk in.
Continuous attacking unfortunately never resulted in further goals as outstanding goalkeeping, incorrect approaches and the strange refereeing decisions kept the score unchanged at the end as St. George’s SC gave more effort when reduced to ten players after 75 minutes.