Waterhouse FC kept alive their slim hope of avoiding relegation after scraping past fellow strugglers FC Reno in yesterday’s Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) match at the Drewsland mini-stadium.

The hard-running Kemar Beckford opened the scoring for Waterhouse in the 26th minute before Deandre Brown gave them a two-goal cushion in the 37th minute. Renorio Downswell scored the first of his two goals in the 40th minute to ensure Reno entered the half-time break behind by only a goal.

Waterhouse, who needed to win to have a chance of staying up, went into a 3-1 lead when Kenroy Howell scored in the 66th minute. Downswell ensured a nervous finish when he rocketed in his team’s second in the 82nd minute.

With victory, Waterhouse, who were national champions in the 1997-98 and 2005-06 seasons, move to 31 points from 32 games, but stay last in the 12-team standing.

FC Reno, the three-time national club winners, stay ninth with 34 points.

The two teams with fewest number of points after Sunday’s 33rd and final match day of the RSPL’s preliminary stage will be demoted to lower tier football.

Waterhouse Head Coach Anthony Patrick was relieved his team got all three points.

“We talked about pushing Reno back and we got that early goal. In the second half I think we played around and we conceded, but the three points are very important.

“We had to get six points from the final two games, so we have Boys’ Town [FC] on Sunday and I’m very optimistic,” he told the Jamaica Observer after the game

Reno’s Technical Director Wendell Downswell conceded it was a disappointing result for his team.

“I’m very disappointed because I think in the first half we were tactically naïve. It’s after they scored two goals that we started to create some pressure tactically.

“It’s very tight now in the points table…it’s down to the wire. Hopefully we continue to fight and we have UWI [University of the West Indies FC] at home on Sunday,” Downswell said.

Waterhouse, fighting desperately to for the win, took the lead when striker Jermaine “Tuffy” Anderson headed on from a corner kick for Beckford to turn the ball into the net from point blank range.

Close to the half-hour mark, Reno’s Kayce Bromfield came close with a header that shaved the left-hand post as Waterhouse goalkeeper Roshane Patterson was left in no man’s land.

Brown scored the second for the hosts when he dribbled across the 18-yard box from right to left before unleashing a left-footer from 20 yards that beat the Reno ‘keeper Devaughn Hawthorne.

Reno pulled back a goal five minutes before the interval when Downswell turned in neatly after latching onto a left-sided cross. All that happened even as Waterhouse players appealed for a foul when one of their players went to ground inside their own defensive third.

The second half saw an enthusiastic Reno outfit pushing back Waterhouse with a number of attacks. On one such occasion, it was left to a brave double-save by Patterson to keep Waterhouse in the lead.

At the other end, Reno were made to pay after missing those chances as Howell’s close-range volley burst through the hands of Hawthorne and trickled into the net.

Waterhouse then spurned a couple of opportunities to increase their advantage.

But Reno soon narrowed the deficit to make Waterhouse sweat for the final eight minutes of normal time. The hosts failed to clear the ball from their defence and that left a chance for Downswell to fire a shot between a defender’s legs and past goalkeeper Patterson.

Teams:

Waterhouse — Roshane Patterson, Oshane Roberts, Deandre Brown, Nicholy Finlayson, Kemar Beckford, Kymani Campbell (Devon Hodges 63rd), Carlos Wright, Nicholas Nelson (Theo Brown 50th), Jermaine Anderson, Sean Coleman, Kenroy Howell (Omar Walcott 90+2).

Subs not used: George Brown, Jurian Lewis, Stephorn Brown, Kevin Lamey

Booked: Finlayson (90+5)

Reno — Devaughn Hawthorne, Jashane Foster, Kavar Walker, Linval Wilson, Rondel Morris, Renorio Downswell, Afiba Chambers (Roshane Sharpe 76th), Omar Johnson, Shamar Bernard, Kayce Bromfield, Neville Morgan

Subs not used: Joel Johnson, Kirk Mullings, Maliki Reid, Amoy Spence, Romero Graham

Booked: Bromfield (21st), Wilson (87th)

Referee: Daneon Parchment

Assistant Referees: Garnet Page, Keble Williams

Fourth Official: Tyrone Robinson

Match Commissary: Charles Barrett

Yesterday’s results (home team named first)

Waterhouse 3, Reno 2

Boys’ Town 0, Tivoli Gardens 3

Harbour View 3, Arnett Gardens 0

Humble Lion 2, Cavalier 0

Portmore 1, UWI 1

Rivoli 4, Montego Bay 2