HView sink hapless Cavalier for round final honours
HARBOUR View went one better and captured the Red Stripe Premier League Second End-of-Round final with a clinical 2-0 beating of Cavalier on Monday night, and thus pocketed $250,000.
Goals by Reggae Boyz Joel Senior and Jermaine Hue in the 16th and 45th minutes, respectively, were enough to see off a Cavalier team that rarely threatened in the final third.
Harbour View, who lost the First End-of-Round final to Boys’ Town and now hold an eight-point lead atop of the league standing, outplayed their opponent and were deserved winners.
Head coach Vinimore ‘Vin’ Blaine was satisfied with his team’s dominant display and thought they could have scored a few more.
“This game the guys came out and played some very good football, passing the ball around and two goals…I will be satisfied with that. But I think we could have gotten a couple more. I was looking for at least one more in the second half but 2-0 and winning the End-of-Round final is good enough for me,” said Blaine.
Cavalier, who made a return to topflight football after an 18-year absence and surprisingly reached the final, collected $150,000 for the losing effort.
Head coach David Lalor believes his team started out slowly and conceded two soft goals and was always playing catch-up thereafter.
“We made some adjustments in the second half and had a better run, but we were just unable to score,” said Lalor.
He continued: “For us, we saw some strengths and weaknesses in the team and we now know how to put our best football forward going into the third round. This is very encouraging for us going into the third round, knowing that we came out on top in the second round and the players believe in themselves and it is for us now to keep our focus.”
The final, played at the Waterhouse Mini-Stadium, wasn’t the biggest of crowds, mainly because Harbour View and Cavalier don’t really have a huge fan base.
At the kick-off, Cavalier actually bossed possession early on, looking sharp and quicker to the ball than Harbour View.
But in the 16th minute, Evan Taylor, the Fruta Man-of-the-Match, provided a 30-metre defence-splitting pass which Joel Senior latched onto before calmly chipping over the advancing Gariece McPherson in goal.
Then on the stroke of half-time, Taylor, formerly of Reno, was at it again, intercepting a pass before releasing Donovan Edwards down the right flank, and his cross found an unmarked Hue at the back post, and his low shot took a slight deflection on its way in to the side netting.
Cavalier brought on the lively Fabian Nethersole, Chevonne Marsh and Mitchily Waul in pursuit of goals, but that never materialised, as Harbour View, led by Montrose Phinn, Christopher Harvey and Jaron Richards at the back, were never really tested.