HARBOUR View FC head coach Vinimore Blaine expressed relief after his team’s come-from-behind 2-1 victory over fifth-placed Arnett Gardens FC at the Compound on Thursday restored their seven-point gap at the top of Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).

Harbour View scored through Jermie Lynch’s two-timer in the 60th and 69th minutes to eclipse Kirk Ramsay’s 22nd minute opener.

The three points moved the leaders to 66 points with only three matches remaining — including Sunday’s crunch clash with fourth-placed Boys’ Town FC at the Collie Smith Complex — while second-placed Waterhouse FC are now almost beyond striking distance with 59 points.

A win for Harbour View versus Boys’ Town will crown them champions, regardless of other outcomes.

Meanwhile, the other two matches for Harbour View are also expected to be tough. After facing Boys’ Town, the ‘Stars of the East’ will have to turn their attention to Waterhouse before closing the season against last season’s champions Portmore United, who are currently third.

With the remaining fixtures in mind, Blaine refused to call the title-race over. He however, hailed Thursday’s win as an “important” one going into those final three showdowns of the RSPL season.

“We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, but we are not there yet. As long as there is a chance I can’t make that prediction (that we are safe). The three games remaining are nine points (at stake). We have only a seven-point lead, so if Waterhouse was to win all three and we lost…

“It (the win) has lifted a lot of pressure…winning the game took us back to seven points (ahead). If we had lost the game it would be four. That would have been a little tricky because we have three games left and with Waterhouse to play. The win itself is important and it gives us a good base to move forward,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Blaine, who saw his team leading by as many as 12 points a handful of rounds ago, said it was difficult for the players having to endure a winless streak stretching seven matches and added that the recent 1-1 result with Tivoli Gardens FC left Harbour View at an emotional low.

He reasoned, however, that the comeback beating of Arnett Gardens was the ideal tonic.

“We went seven games without a win and we thought we had the win against Tivoli. It was a little bit depressing afterwards for the entire team, but last night the win was welcome. It made them realise that they have this championship in their sight. Being down 0-1 and coming back to win the game shows some character and we need that going forward,” Blaine said.

When asked about the challenge to keep players motivated during the barren spell of matches, the national women’s coach insisted that he had to maintain a calm disposition to steady the ship. He said the inconsistent form of the chasing pack also worked in Harbour View’s favour.

“As the head I can’t panic. I don’t do it on the sidelines and I don’t show it in team meetings. We always concentrated on our goals.

“The beauty about the whole thing is that when we weren’t doing well the other teams weren’t doing well either. We didn’t do well for so many games and they didn’t close the gap that much,” Blaine said.