Big guns fall on opening day salvo
THE Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) kicked off with some interesting results as champion Harbour View and three of last season’s top teams all suffered defeats on the opening day.
Harbour View, Portmore United, Arnett Gardens, Boys’ Town and Montego Bay United all suffered losses on a day when only nine goals were scored from six matches.
Harbour View, who will be with the creative skills of Jermaine Hue for a while, crashed 0-2 to a Sporting Central Academy team playing on their new Juici Patties Park for the first time after switching from the luscious Brancourt field.
Gregory Lewis and Francois Swaby netted in the 28th and 75th minutes, respectively, pushing the Clarendon outfit to three points and an early lead in the league.
Waterhouse also joined Sporting Central atop the league with an impressive 2-0 win over Boys’ Town, having played the last 11 minutes with 10 men after goalscorer Marvin Morgan picked up his second yellow card, while celebrating his goal when he removed his shirt in the 79th minute.
Morgan had just made the switch from Boys’ Town to Waterhouse this summer and fellow new signee, the talented Romario Campbell who made the switch from Harbour View, sealed the win in the 90+2 minutes.
Former champion Portmore United continue to find Cavalier a hard nut to crack, losing 0-1 at the Stadium East field. Another new signee, Severo Murphy, formerly of Highgate United, found the clincher in the 26th minute.
It was the third time in four meetings that Cavalier are getting the better of Portmore United, having beaten them twice from three games last season.
It was a brilliant day for Clarendon as their other team Humble Lion clipped Arnett Gardens 1-0 at the Effortville Community Centre.
Roberto Fletcher netted the winner in the fifth minute as both Clarendon outfits are on three points following opening day wins.
At the Edward Seaga Stadium, Rafiek Thomas nodded home in the 62nd minute as Tivoli Gardens cooled Montego Bay United 1-0 and also moved to three points.
In the clash of the promoted teams, August Town and Rivoli United battled to a 1-1 draw at the UWI Bowl.
Larone Russell had given August Town a 25th minute lead, but Kemar Bennett earned a share of the points netting in the 61st minute.