Lions tame H’View
EFFORTVILLE, Clarendon – Harbour View FC became the latest big-name team to feel the pinch of a points-hungry Humble Lions team, as a 59th minute strike from Omar Walters gave the Digicel Premier League new boys a deserved 1-0 victory at the Effortville Community Centre yesterday.
Humble Lions have now moved further away from the drop zone with 21 points and are winning consecutive games for the first time this season — their second at home and fifth overall.
Coach Christopher Bender, seemingly overwhelmed with joy, sprinted away from the technical area when he heard the final whistle as he tried to avoid the mad rush of the supporters who swarmed toward him.
Later he said: “This is like a redemption for the players who have been training very hard, sometime people criticize them but they came good today.”
Harbour View, who lost for the first time on the road in about 10 games, are still leading the standings with 39 points, despite the lost.
Coach Donavon Hayles thought the underfoot conditions caused some problems for his players.
“I think that it was always going to be tough coming here, and as you realise it was very difficult condition to play on. Nevertheless, I think that we could have done much better. But, also I must give praise to Humble Lions, they are well-equipped at home and they used that to their advantage”, said Hayles.
Harbour View were unlucky not to have taken the lead early in the game, when Andre Steele’s 28-yard snap-shot grazed the cross-bar and went out for a goal kick.
Spurred on by a bumper crowd, the home team was to, however, soak up the pressure and responded almost immediately through their talismanic striker and captain Kevin Mighty who chest controlled a long pass, but the resulting volley shot cleared the crossbar by mere inches.
At half-time, the Lions made a tactical change by giving Mighty a partner upfront which paid dividend 14 minutes into the second half. The Harbour View defenders, who had a torrid time containing Mighty as a lone striker, cracked when Walters made it 1-0.
Walters, who earlier saw his left-footed effort crashed into Dwayne Miller’s left upright ,outmuscled Harbour View strongman Dicoy Williams to slot home pass the national goalkeeper.
The ‘Stars of the East’, who seemed to have been thrown off by the roughness of the Clarendon-based outfit, continued to push for a lifeline as they put the Lions on the back-foot. The pressure saw the visitors winning three corners within minutes of each other, but the determination of the home team was to pull them through in the end.
In other results, St Georges SC and champions Tivoli Gardens ended 0-0 at Lyn ch Park, while it was 1-1 between Arnett Gardens and Village United at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex.
Teams:
Humble Lions — Damion Barrett, Kimroy Davis (Narado Brown 68th), Omar Walters (Sean Coleman 85ft), Tyrone Lampart, Kevin Mighty, Ricardo Campbell, Jeffery Baker, Kirk Duckworth, Zico Herrera, Damion Crooks
Subs not used: Rupert Lewin, Tyrone Buddah, Errol Wilkie, Rohan Williams, Sheldon Brown
Booked: Barrett (27th), Lampart (39th), Duckworth (77th)
Harbour View — Dwayne Miller, Lamar Hodges, Montrose Phinn, Dicoy Williams, Daveion Woodhouse, Lovel Palmer, Andre Steele (Damion Anderson 73rd)), John-Ross Edwards, Nicholas Beckett, Andre Fagan (Jomo Gordon 78th), Ranique Muir (Kamar Petrekin 65th)
Subs not used: Michaud Barrett, Fabian Campbell, Clifton Waugh, Christopher Harvey
Booked: Miller (33rd)
Referee: Dave Peterkin Assistants: Steve Brown, Sean Thomas-Palmer Fourth Official: Courtney Campbell Match Commissary: Dave Galloway
– Oshane Tobias