Harbour View’s rich vein of form continued following a 2-1 over Arnett Gardens in Red Stripe Premier League action at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.
The Stars of the East, who headed into the encounter as the only team assured of a spot in the first end-of-round final, were led to victory on goals from forward Jeremie Lynch and midfielder Nicholas Beckett in the 12th and 21st minutes, respectively.
Arnett’s consolation was netted by forward Kamal Malcolm in the 79th minute.
“It was a fairly easy game for us today, except for the latter stages where we lapsed and allowed them to score,” said Harbour View assistant coach, Harold Thomas, who sat in for head coach, Vin Blaine, who is away with the national beach football team.
“Having qualified for the end-of-round final, it was easy to be complacent, but we had a chat before the match and credit to the team, it did not happen today.
“We needed to focus on amassing points, and each player tried to give their all to make it happen,” he added.
Goalkeeping error
The game, which was brought forward to a 3 p.m. kick-off from its regular start time of 5 p.m., saw Harbour View taking the lead on a goalkeeping error from Damion Hyatt, who, after failing to collect cleanly, gifted Lynch a tap home from close range.
Motivated by the goal, Harbour View then went on to add a second through a free kick.
Hue lined up to take the shot with his trademark left foot, but it was Beckett who fired with his right, wronging Hyatt in the process.
With influential midfielder Lamar Nelson somewhat missing in action, Arnett Gardens struggled to create real chances with the otherwise impressive Malcolm, who scored five minutes after he came on, providing the only bright spark.
Malcolm received a through pass at the top of the area before calmly chipping his shot over the advancing goalkeeper, Michaud Barrett.
“We played poor, very slow and keep on making the same mistakes over and over,” said Arnett coach Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis.
Arnett Gardens 1
Harbour View 2
Cavalier 3
Highgate 0
Sporting Central 0
Tivoli Gardens 1
Montego Bay 4
Savannah 0
Waterhouse 4
Humble Lion 0