MAY PEN, Clarendon — Highgate United edged closer to the Red Stripe Premier League exit door following a crushing 1-0 defeat to fellow strugglers Humble Lion, who moved in the opposite direction at Effortville yesterday.

Midfielder Sean Coleman scored the only goal of the game with a close-ranged header in the 16th minute.

The visiting Highgate team had earlier suffered a setback when their goalkeeper, Kadeen Davis, was rushed to the May Pen Hospital following a collision with Humble Lion defender Dwayne Dunk. The accident had left Davis left unconscious, but he has since regained consciousness, the Jamaica Observer learnt.

The St Mary side were, however, unable to recover from the incident, which happened in the third minute, and are now starring down the barrel of demotion to the parish leagues.

The defeat means they are now eight points adrift of safety with only four games left in the season. In addition to winning those four games, Highgate must now hope Humble Lion, the only team they have a realistic chance of catching, drop points rapidly.

Assistant coach Delroy Boyd, who filled in for head coach Michael Smith, is however clinging to faint hope.

“We still have 12 points to play for and all of those four games are at home, so anything is possible. We will just have to do our job and pray that Humble Lion slip up,” he said.

TEAMS:

Humble Lion — Damion Crooks, Adrian Mitchell, Dwayne Dunk (Ricardo Campbell 10th), Shauntel Mundle, Ajuran Brown, Mark Miller, Sean Coleman, Wolry Wolfe, Roberto Fletcher (Denzil Watson 74th), Kimroy Davis (Omar Walters 37th), Omando McLeod.

Subs not used: Garth Herron, Damian Barrett, Gregory Morgan, Oneke Ford. Booked: Mitchell (23rd)

Highgate United — Richard Allison, Devontae Francis (Raymond Thompson 57th), Carlos Barrett, Kadeen Davis (Romaine Hamilton 8th), Charles Williams, Kwesi Campbell, Jahmika Hutchinson, Severo Murphy, Shamir Stewart, Kevin Williams (Omerio Yorke 66th), Gawayne Speed.

Subs not used: Nicholas Sewell, Dwayne Edwards, Christopher Harris, Taffarel Crosdale. Booked: Campbell (30th), Williams (42nd)

Referee: Dwight Royal

Assistants: Antoinette Williams, Melvin Reid Fourth Official: Doyen Tummings

Match Commissary: Ewan Scott