Hayles, Stewart weigh in on new league format
THIS season’s Digicel Premier League has been a fairly unpredictable and tight affair with top teams exchanging pole position on several occasions since the start of the second round.
Harbour View Football Club, Tivoli Gardens and St Georges Sports Club, have all been top since the West Kingston based unit defeated the Portland team in the first end-of-round final.
All three are favourites to lift the title this season. However, no prudent follower of local football will rule out the likes of Boys’ Town and Waterhouse FC, who have both come on strong after slow starts. Portmore United may also crash the party despite languishing in mid-table position.
Harbour View’s coach Donavan Hayles believes teams are adjusting better to the league format over the last few seasons. “Everybody is coming to grips with the league. The league (format) brings out consistency and it will improve our football a whole lot and the more the season goes on, it will get tighter and tighter and you are going to find that it is going right to the end. Who says league format cannot be exciting? It is going to lift the standard (of local football),” he said.
Meanwhile, Bradley Stewart of Rivoli United says the disparity between teams has been narrowed on the field. “In terms of what is presented on the field there is not a big difference between the teams at the top and the teams at the bottom,” he said. “The JFF has made an effort to put the management courses in place. There has also been a serious effort at developing our coaches as well.”
The veteran tactician added that in most cases, the top teams have the edge due to better management and proper infrastructure off-field. “It’s a reflection of the structures that some of the teams have. The strength of those structures and the support service around the teams are different from what happens to the teams at the bottom,” Stewart said, while identifying Harbour View, Tivoli, Portmore and Waterhouse as teams with that advantage.
Meanwhile, Harbour View Football Club maintained their top spot in the Digicel Premier League after scrapping to a 1-0 win over Rivoli United in Sunday’s encounter at the east Kingston team’s mini stadium.
Striker Andre Fagan scored the lone goal for the home team in early first-half action. Harbour View are now on 36 points, while Rivoli remained in relegation danger on 17 points.
Harbour View started the brighter of the two teams and went ahead in the 15th minute when Fagan tapped in Andre Steele’s low cross after sneaking on the blind side of the Rivoli defence.
Rivoli could have equalised three minutes later when Harbour View’s defender Dicoy Williams lost possession to the competition’s leading marksman Devon Hodges, who duly dribbled into the box, but dragged his shot well wide of the far post.
Midway the first half, the ‘Stars of the East’ could have stretched their lead when Steele again made a telling pass — this time to John Ross Edwards, but his shot was parried high by goalkeeper Leon Goffe.
Almost immediately after the half-time resumption, Edwards was again in the thick of the action when he beat two opposing players before shooting wide of the near post.
The visitors then took the advantage in the second-half and forced Harbour View into defensive mode. In fact, Rivoli almost got the equaliser with 25 minutes to go when substitute Kirk Ramsay side-footed to the far corner of goal, but keeper Dwayne Miller threw himself to his left to block.
The home team managed to hold on and will be content heading into the Christmas period in the number one spot.
Teams: Harbour View FC — Dwayne Miller, Lovel Palmer, Montrose Phinn, Dicoy Williams, Kimarlee Brissett, Andre Steele (Nicholas Bennett 75th), John Ross Edwards, Richard Edwards, Jermaine Hue, Andre Fagan (Rafeik Thomas 80th), Ranique Muir (Kamar Petrekin 77th).
Subs not used: Michaud Barrett, Daveion Woodhouse, Damion Anderson, Christopher Harvey
Booked: None
Rivoli United — Leon Goffe, Christopher Hayles, Ricardo Knight, Martin King (Kirk Ramsay 61st), Kemar Brown (Luke Soares 61st), Valentine Gardener, David Lewis (Abayomi Daquilar 72nd), Barrington Planter, Devon Hodges, Derrick Planter, Owen Barker.
Subs not used: Liston James, Mark Newsome, Marlon Henry, Brandon Barrett
Booked: D Planter (67th), Knight (83rd)
Referee: Dwight Royal
Assistants: Antonette Williams, Kedlee Powell
Fourth Official: Kevin Thomas
Match Commissary: Owen Powell