A resurgent Waterhouse FC left the Harbour View mini stadium with a one-goal advantage going into the return leg of the quarter-final play-offs at Drewsland on Thursday and will be gunning for a semi-final spot in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).
It was a game of noticeably good quality and even temper in which Waterhouse secured a very late headed goal by Keithy Simpson, from a corner kick taken by Tramaine Stewart, in the 89th minute of play. It was a game that could have gone either way, as so keen and competitive was the play.
Both teams played responsible football hemmed in by not an often seen discipline, commitment, tactical awareness streamlined by seamless counter pressing with a single-mindedness of purpose.
Harbour View’s major let-down was failing to score, but Diego Haughton’s performance between the sticks was impeccable. So too was Christian Kluvi, whose only blemish cost Harbour View to become more industrious in front of goal by redoubling their effort in the return leg at the Drewsland Stadium.
In spite of taking home an advantage Head Coach Donovan Duckie is mindful that the margin is too slim to become complacent. He said the narrowness of the margin of victory should awaken a driving hope of recovery in Harbour View and, as the game is in two halves, it is imperative for his team to maintain their advantage and not be appeased by their good fortune.
“There is a saying that with good preparation there comes an element of luck. I can say that we were lucky, but we created our own luck and to keep ahead we have to continue our preparation in the same vein. I like what “Bibby” (Ricardo Gardner) is doing at Harbour View. This makes them a dangerous side, but we will be playing at home and we need our home crowd support. We need that 12th man support to come out and rally around the team,” Duckie urged.
Harbour View’s Assistant Head Coach Fabian Taylor did not mince words: “We are most disappointed with the result, losing 1-0. Nevertheless, we were satisfied that the guys played well without scoring. It was not for the wants of trying that we did not score. It was a game in which neither team wanted to give anything away.
“It was just unfortunate that we came out of the game trailing 0-1 despite playing really well. But this is a game of two halves. We finished the first half one goal down, but we have another half to go and based on the squad that we have assembled, we have enough capable players to produce a much better effort in the second half away at Waterhouse,” Taylor indicated.
Source: The Jamaica Observer