Montego Bay United (MBU) left it late on Sunday, scoring twice in the dying moments of their Red Stripe Premier League first-round game at WesPow Park to earn a 2-2 draw against Harbour View.
Playing in terrible water-logged underfoot conditions after heavy rains dumped inches of water on the newly re-laid field and in near darkness, central defender Cordel Simpson pulled one back for MBU on the stroke of full time before Owayne Gordon scored with the final kick of the game, four minutes into time added on by referee Raymond Bogle as the home team came back from giving up the lead in three consecutive games.
Ludlow Bernard, the Harbour View coach, was left shaking his head as they had two precious points taken away from them at the last possible moment, not long after they were celebrating what they thought was their second win of the season.
“This is very disappointing,” he told the Observer. “It’s the luck of the draw because of the condition of the pitch and MoBay United fought hard for it.”
Most of the first 50 minutes of the game was played in torrential downpours that left puddles of water on the field and made the free movement of the ball difficult.
The game which started at 4:00 pm ended in near darkness.
James sent Harbour View into the lead when he headed the ball past goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett from a corner.
The home team missed two good chances to score early in the second half, Williams the competition’s top scorer missing both times, shooting wide in the 59th minute then hitting the outside of the left upright in the 64th minute from two yards out.
The Harbour View bench was celebrating even more when they caught the MBU team on the counter and Frater ran away from the lone defender and with Barrett coming way out of his area, the striker easily got around him and fired into the unprotected goal.
Simpson was well placed at the left post and poked home a ball to cut the deficit and ignited the comeback.
MBU were awarded a free kick deep into added time, and with goal keeper Barrett in the Harbour View penalty area, Gordon collected the ball on the right side, drove into the box and cannoned it off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal.
Teams:
MBU — Jacomeno Barrett, Dino Williams, Jermaine Woozencroft (Allan Ottey 28th), Owayne Gordon, Donovan Carey, Keniel Kirlew, Dwayne Ambusley, Dwayne Holmes (Kashief Brown 55th), Cordel Simpson, Kemar Drake, Orlando McBayne (Ronaldo Rodney 68th)
Subs not used: Romaine Bowers, Winston Wilkinson, John Barrett, Romario Clarke
Booked: Simpson (14th), Williams (27th), Holmes (49th)
Harbour View — Devon Haughton, Hugh Evans, Rosario Harriott, Nicholas Beckett, Mark Miller, Jorginho James, Andrew Allen, Keammar Daley, John-Ross Edwards, Claudius Blackburn (Allando Matheson 85th), Kevaughn Frater
Subs not used: Mark Bryan, Odane Samuels, Dejanni Isaacs, Ranique Muir, Bryan English, Khachief Mills
Booked: Evans (74th)
Referee: Raymond Bogle
Assistant Referees: Lloyd Edwards, Ojay Duhaney
Fourth Official: Veralton Nembhard
Match Commissary: Fitzroy Reid
Source: The Jamaica Observer [excerpt]