A last-gasp strike from Kemar Bennett secured all three points for Harbour View FC with a 1-0 win against Waterhouse FC in a crucial third round clash to move away from the drop zone in Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) at Drewsland on Sunday.
Harbour View stepped up their play appreciably in the closing stages of the game with useful second-half changes and Rosario Harriott found Bennett unmarked on top of the box with a deft pass, and the latter responded by scooping the ball outside the reach of goalkeeper Romaine Bowers in the 89th minute to free Harbour View from the grip of their four-match losing streak.
Waterhouse, on the other hand, were losing for the first time in seven matches.
With the win, Harbour View leapfrogged Waterhouse up to eighth place on 30 points, while Waterhouse dropped to ninth on 28 points.
Ludlow Bernard, a very relieved Harbour View FC coach, said in his post-match remarks that he trained with the main objective to take three points at Waterhouse.
“This is a game we had prepared for since Wednesday. I think despite the goals we gave up against Humble Lion FC, we played some good football, but we were let down by some poor defending at the time. After this, we spent sometime addressing the defensive aspect of the team (and) if you noticed in today’s (Sunday’s) game, the players retained their positions no matter what, so it was very tight as we wanted to make it difficult for the Waterhouse team to even get a look in,” he said.
Waterhouse’s Glendon ‘Admiral’ Bailey felt his team should have left the field with at least a point.
“It was a fairly tactical game with both teams moving well on and off the ball and with us having a lot of possession, especially in the first half,” he told reporters.
Teams
Waterhouse FC – Romaine Bowers, DeAndre Brown (Shawn McKoy 68th), Jeffrey Henry (Carlos Wright 15th), Shaquille Dyer, Kymani Campbell, Weston Forrest, Kemar Beckford, Romario Campbell, Nicholi Finlayson, Neicko Williams, Donovan Edwards (Rodave Murray 56th).
Subs not used: Akeem Chambers, Irvino English, Oshane Roberts, Javoni Simms
Booked: Campbell (50th), Dyer (75th)
Harbour View FC – Devon Haughton, Andre Messam, Javain Brown, Nicholas Beckett, Akeem Priestley (Jaleel Chamberlain 68th), Evan Taylor, Rosario Harriott, Kemar Bennett, John-Ross Edwards, McKauly Tulloch (Clayton Pusey 87th), Daniel Green (Ranique Muir 66th).
Subs not used: Christian Kluvi, Ajeane Talbert, Fabian Grant, Michael Martin
Booked: None.
Referee: Oshane Nation
Assistant Referees: Jassett Kerr, Lloyd Edwards
Fourth Official: Tyrone Robinson
Match Commissioner: Fitzroy Reid
Source: The Jamaica Observer