CATHERINE HALL, St James — Defending champions Montego Bay United (MBU) have taken a big step towards returning to the finals of the Red Stripe Premier League after shocking Waterhouse 3-1 in the first leg of the semi-finals played at Waterhouse’s Drewsland stadium Monday night.

Second-half goals from Allan Ottey, Dino Williams and substitute Donovan Carey — his first of the season — gave Montego Bay United a two-goal cushion going into Sunday’s

return leg at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, set to start at 6:00 pm.

Substitute Andre Leslie cut the deficit for Waterhouse when he scored deep into time added on.

The game was a repeat of last season’s final when Montego Bay United beat Waterhouse 5-2 at the National Stadium to lift their first title.

Sunday’s game will pit one of the top home records against one of the top away records, but Waterhouse have not beaten

Montego Bay United in their last three trips to Montego Bay.

Monday’s game was a bruising one with the MBU team coming out the worse. Midfielder Keniel Kirlew suffered a laceration close to his left ankle early in the game, and is likely to miss Sunday’s game.

Williams, who was heavily marked for most of the game, created the first goal in the 62nd minute, when, under pressure from a defender and his back turned to the goal, he lobbed the ball over his head for Ottey to steer it past goalkeeper Richard McCallum.

Williams doubled the advantage 10 minutes later when a bad mix-up in the Waterhouse defence allowed him the time and space to control a ball and cannon it past the hapless McCallum.

Carey, who replaced Graeme Green, put the icing on the cake when he got away from two Waterhouse players and stroked a looping shot from about 25 yards out, high into the top-right corner of the goal in the 79th minute.

Leslie atoned for the misfiring Waterhouse strikers when he beat Jacomeno Barrett to his left four minutes into time added on.