IT appears semi-finals-chasing Humble Lion FC have finally unearthed a gem in new signing Ricardo Dennis. But Technical Director Vassell Reynolds has made a deliberate effort to downplay the hype surrounding the youngster following Sunday’s Man-of-the-Match performance against Portmore United at the Effortville Community Centre.

Making his Red Stripe Premier League debut, the former Glenmuir High daCosta Cup star guided the hosts to a thrilling come-from-behind 3-1 victory over the then league leaders, creating two goals and scoring the other in an action-packed 32-minute cameo.

Replacing Captain Jermaine Christian just before the hour, it took Dennis three minutes to make an impact, sprinting past his marker before delivering a low cross which was eventually smashed into the net by Wolry Wolf.

His next big contribution was his crowning moment. With the game now tied 1-1, he raced onto a through pass from Francois Swaby in the 72nd then slotted the ball past the Portmore goalkeeper Donian Atkinson with his second touch.

But his night was not over. Five minutes from time he served up a delightful assist for midfielder Ricardo Cousins to score the winner from the edge of the box, albeit with the aid of a heavy deflection.

The victory means Humble Lion consolidated their position in the top four after they improved to 35 points. But, predictably, all the post-match talk was centred around Dennis and the confidence with which he bamboozled Portmore United, who had taken the lead through the industrious Javon East in the 42nd minute.

However, his coach was not one of those conferring stardom on the youngster after just one performance. While duly hailing Dennis’s heroics, Reynolds made it clear that Humble Lion’s goalscoring burden will not be placed solely on the young man’s shoulders.

“He has been playing well in training, so we were just waiting for the right moment. But we are not going to pressure him, so we just asked him to go out there and enjoy the game,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds added that he was pleased with his team’s overall performance, “not just the result”, singling out their gradual improvement in the goalscoring department, although they did waste a number of chances before the visiting Portmore outfit took the lead via a lovely lobbed effort from East.

Unfortunately for the youthful St Catherine side, they could not replicate their first-half discipline once the host upped the tempo with the introduction of Dennis.

Consequently, this defeat means they were replaced by Arnett Gardens at the top of the 12-team competition after the title holders ended 1-1 with Tivoli Gardens. Both Arnett and Portmore have 43 points, but the ‘Junglists’ boast a better goal difference.

Despite the slip, Coach Jeffrey Hewitt said he is not overly concerned. “At the moment this is a league format, so you can either win, draw or lose. We have not lost many games, so we will just have to move on from this one and try to put together another (unbeaten) run,” said Hewitt, whose side was losing for only the sixth time in 23 games.

TEAMS: Humble Lion — Allien Whittaker, Gregory Lewis, Fabian Pascoe, Linval Lewis, Hugh Howell, Andrew Vanzie, Ricardo Cousins, Wolry Wolfe (Kevaughn Isaacs 90th+), Levaughn Williams, Jermaine Christian (Ricardo Dennis 58th) Francois Swaby (Michael Moreland 88th).

Subs not used: Sanchez Lloyd, Ajuran Brown, Kirk Duckworth, Dwayne Campbell

Booked: Cousins (35th)

Portmore United — Donian Atkinson, Damono Solomon, Ryan Wellington, Roberto Johnson, Ewan Grandison, Omar Daley, Stephen Williams, Paul Wilson, Ricardo Morris (Rodian Jennings 82nd), Maalique Foster (Mark Alves 82nd), Javon East.

Subs not used: Tyrone Williams, Osani Ricketts, Upston Edwards, Kambuji McCalla, Adoah Nickle.

Booked: Omar Daley (9th), Grandison (17th)

Referee: Karl Tyrel

Assistant Referees: Garnet Page, Damion Williams

Fourth Official: Jermaine Douglas

Match Commissary: Charles Barrett