By Paul Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
Portmore United's players hug each other after taking the lead against Harbour View in a Wray and Nephew National Premier League rescheduled game at the Ferdie Neita Park yesterday. Portmore won the game 2-1.
- NORMAN GRINDLEY/Staff Photographer
TEN MAN Portmore United came from behind to snap the hundred percent Wray and Nephew National Premier League win record of table topping Harbour View with a 2-1 win at the Ferdie Neita Park yesterday.
Fans turned out in their numbers to watch Denzil Watson (54th minute) and Dave Clarke (85th) push their side to victory against Jermaine Hue's 43rd minute strike.
Portmore's win has given them 14 points from six games and sees them cutting Harbour View's lead at the top of the charts to a single point, Harbour View's tally also comes from six games.
Harbour View started looking the more dangerous team, however, it was Portmore who put the marking on the wall with the first opportunities of the game.
SHAKY
A cross from Watson beat a lunging Murray, who watched helplessly as Damion Williams approaching on the back post side-footed the ball wide. As early as that Harbour View had looked shaky at the back. They made up well for it by attacking in dangerous swoops that had the Portmore team struggling to stop them from getting behind them.
In the 36th minute, Harbour View's Craig Stewart, who had been given a start ahead of Akeem Priestly hit a powerful shot from a tight angle. The shot was deflected and his teammate Sean Fraser's quick reflexes weren't enough to give him a chances of knocking the ball on target.
In the 42nd minute a trademark Harbour View 40-yard diagonal pass from Christopher Harvey was chested by Stewart inside the box, who was brought down by an ailing Adriane Mitchelle.
The pain of Mitchelle's yellow card was only usurped by the composure that Hue applied to the spot kick to give Harbour View their half-time advantage.
On the stroke of half-time Christopher Dawes, whose job it was to mark Hue was yellow carded for a stern challenge on the 'little genius'. That tackle was later to haunt him because he received a second yellow in the second-half for a similar challenge on Hue to earn for himself an early shower.
The red card came after Portmore were gifted with a goal thanks to the young Jermaine Taylor whose week back pass to Leighton Murray saw Watson streeking in between the two players and stabbing the ball home before their could be any reactions of note.
Right after Dawes' red card, Portmore coach Lenworth Hyde, made a brave change in bringing on Dave Clarke for Watson rather than bringing on another midfielder to ensure the draw.
That choice was to pay dividends, as Anthony Bennett, who had been played through on goal was disappointed to watch his powerhouse of a shot parried by Murray but relieved to see the rebound latched unto by Clarke.
REBOUND
Harbour View coach Donovan Hayles blames errors for his loss but is watching if his team can rebound.
"We started the second half very poorly. We were making alot of defensive blunders in the second-half. I can count five mistakes we made in the back and I said that we cannot get away with this against Portmore and then we went and made a sixth one," he said.
Hyde on the other hand thought his team's conditioning was the determining factor.
"We were patient and waited on the second half to start running and when we started running they didn't have any answers for it. When you are down good teams get back goals and win matches," he said.
What was a good game between two good teams was marred by a stone throwing incident between Murray and Patrons that had to be broken up by the police, who fired shots in the air.
Allegedly the stones were thrown because Murray had struck a ball boy in the face. According to the ball boy, Phillip Thompson, he threw back a ball at Murray and it hit the 'keeper in the face. Murray's retaliation was not taken lightly by the crowd behind the goal and he didn't back down, hurling stones back in the direction they came.
