DEFENDING champions and end-of-first-round winners Harbour View moved a step closer to another final with a 3-0 win over Waterhouse at Drewsland yesterday.
With the win they advanced to 16 points and regained the lead in the tables with just one series of matches to be played by all other teams except Harbour View, Seba and Olympic Gardens. Both Harbour View and Seba have two matches remaining while Olympic Gardens have three. In other games played yesterday, the previous leaders Arnett Gardens - also candidates for a place in the final - dropped two points at Frome playing to a 1-1 draw with Reno.
Tivoli Gardens who are also in with a chance of making it to the end-of-round-final progressed to 14 points, one behind Arnett Gardens, after beating Wadadah 2-1 at Railway Oval.
In the other game of the day Constant Spring beat Hazard 1-0 to leapfrog the idle Olympic Gardens. Their eleven points put them in fourth position ahead of Seba who are on nine.
Losers Hazard also found themselves being hurdled by Reno who moved up to eight point but with a better goal difference. Wadadah and Waterhouse, following their losses, maintained their places at the bottom of the table.
At Drewsland the 3-0 victory recorded by Harbour View was not an accurate reflection of the flow of the game. Harbour View blessed with an abundance of riches so much so that they could have afforded to rest the likes of first string goalkeeper Leon Gordon, forwards Fabian Taylor and Wolde Harris and not issue squad numbers to the likes of Carl Binger, Kevin Rose and Craig Stewart, dominated the first half of the game.
Harbour View played as if they were the ones at home in the first half pinning the Waterhouse team in the own half and cutting open their defence with ease as Kirk Martin and his fellow defenders kept chasing the powerfully-built Damani Ralph and Mark Miller up front for Harbour View. It was no surprise when Harbour View took the lead in the 20th minute through Ralph.
Ralph who is home from studies in the United States received a pass out of defence on the right flank from Clifton Waugh, dribbled past waterhouse left back Jermaine Russell and fired home. The dominance continued to the end of the half with Waterhouse only getting a half chance from an attempted clearance which hit a forward and went out for a corner.
In the second half when Waterhouse rang their changes beginning with the energetic Roberto Fletcher for Andre Hickling, though clearly a class below Harbour View, they looked a different team. Waterhouse gradually took shape and when the subsistute Alberto Fray was substituted by Damion Williams after an injury they looked even more purposeful.
In the 63rd minute Kevin Lamey had an excellent chance to pull his team level as he was picked out by Damion Powell on the edge of the 18-yard box. He turned nicley and blasted at goal but Leeroy Gray pulled off a brilliant save.
Just a minute later Powell motoring towards goal was professionally fouled outside the 18-yard box by sweeper Oneil Smith who escaped with a yellow card. The resultant freekick from English went close.
Harbour View hit back soon after with substitute Alex Blake who did well down the right flank, chipping past Rohan Lungren before sending a perfect cross for Robert Scarlett who unbelievably headed wide.
Waterhouse immediately went on the offensive forcing a scrambling save from the Harbour View defence which also saw a powerful shot from Powell going high. What probably cost the game for Waterhouse though was a 37th minute blunder from Lamey. Almost on the goalline and facing an empty goal Lamey turned a shot from Fletcher which was probably heading into the goal, over the crossbar.
Thereafter the Waterhouse resistance subsided and an 88th minute strike from Robert Scarlet who was found by substitute Harris with a defence-splitting pass. The litle defender rounded Damion Campbell in goal before slotting home. The death blow came in the second minute of time added from Harris who looked suspiciously offside.
Harris collected a ball behind right back Tafari O'connor who had abandoned defence in search of a goal, turned two defenders before firing home.
RESULTS
Waterhouse 0 Harbour View 3
Tivoli 1 Wadadah 1
Reno 1 Arnett Gardens 1
Constant Spring 1 Hazard 1
