TUCKER, St James — There were joyous scenes at WesPow Park yesterday as the home team Montego Bay United (MBU) beat defending champions Harbour View 1-0 in their second-leg semi-finals for a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place in the final of the Red Stripe Premier League.

Montego Bay United will now await the winner of the Waterhouse-Arnett Gardens semi-final decider at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex today.

Meanwhile, Harbour View paid dearly for giving up an early 2-0 lead in the first leg played at Compound on Wednesday when they had to settle for a 2-2 draw.

Harbour View were outplayed by a fitter Montego Bay United yesterday under a hot mid-afternoon sun.

Though Montego Bay United dominated the game, it was Dino Williams’ 23rd minute goal that made the difference as both teams wasted good scoring chances throughout.

Dr Dean Weatherly, the third man to guide Montego Bay United this season, told reporters after the game they were “never really threated at any time by Harbour View”.

Weatherly, who had the team for most of last year but had to take over in the latter part of the season from Pastor Hugh Solomon who had replaced Donovan Duckie, said he thought his players’ superior fitness made the difference.

“We were fitter than them and playing them in the hot sun gave us the advantage,” he noted.

Weatherly also said the speed they used down both flanks, with Allan Ottey on the left and Lesly St Fleur on the right, also disrupted the Harbour View game plan.

While Andrew Hinds, the Harbour View coach, did not have much to say to the media, Vin Blaine, who was assisting on the bench, admitted his team was second best on the day.

“The MBU team outplayed us today (yesterday)… we gave up a soft, soft, soft goal and that was that,” he lamented.

The goal came from a brilliant move involving three MBU players inside the Harbour View area which left their defenders flat-footed and goalkeeper Levor Williams exposed.

Midfielder Keniel Kirlew sent Ottey down the left with a pinpoint pass and the speedy winger took the ball down the flank before crossing to Williams, who got in front of a defender before kicking past his namesake at the near left post.

Minutes earlier, the MBU team had missed two good chances — Williams kicking wide after a mistake from Harbour View defender Christopher Harvey sent him through and St Fleur’s shot came back off the custodian’s chest in the 21st minute.

Williams missed a second goal for MBU in the 27th minute when he shot wide at the near right post.

Harbour View took over the game for a period in the second half and their best chance was a savage drive from John Ross Edwards in the 60th minute from about 25 yards, but that ball was defended when St Fleur headed over the crossbar with his goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett out of position.

MBU just failed to double the score in the 67th when a clearance from John Barrett deep in his own half seemed headed for the goal, but the Harbour View goalkeeper got back in time to tip it over the crossbar for a corner.