Sport

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

There were joyous scenes at the Harbour View Football Club's headquarters on Wednesday night, a few minutes after the Stars of the East clinched the 2009-10 Digicel Premier League title.

Harbour View wrapped up the title earlier in the evening following their 2-1 win over Boys' Town at the Harbour View Mini Stadium, which was followed by their closest challengers, defending champions Tivoli Gardens, going down to a 1-2 to St Georges at Lynch Park.

The day's results saw Harbour View (73) take an unassailable seven points lead over second-place Tivoli Gardens (66) with two rounds of matches to come, giving them their third hold on the Digicel Premier League title.

Things were a bit quiet in the community at first before the news got out. Two of Harbour View's senior players, captain Richard Edwards and Jermaine Hue, were at the team house busily receiving congratulatory phone calls as the other players trickled in. The players greeted each other with hugs and 'high fives' while letting out howls of joy.

man of the moment

The man of the moment, Harbour View's coach Donovan Hayles, soon arrived on the scene and all of the players scampered to congratulate him on his first Premier league triumph as a coach. Hayles had come close in the past with the most infamous of these being the 2005/06 season when Harbour View were leading by 13 points at one stage only to be pegged back and beaten to the title by Waterhouse.

"When I lost that year, it was like I had lost my mom or my son; I didn't only feel bad as a coach, I felt ashamed," said Hayles.

He is, however, walking around with his head held high today, as a burden has been lifted off his shoulders.

Hayles said: "It is like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders, I feel so light, I don't know if my feet are touching ground right now. Sometimes they say the harder the battle, the sweeter the victory and that is so true. After fighting hard, year after year; coming close and seeing it slip through your grasp to finally get a grasp of the trophy is a feeling that will live with me forever. It has been my lifelong dream to guide Harbour View to championship victory and to make the community proud."

not expecting to win

He, however, confessed that he did not expect to win the title with two round of matches yet to be played.

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to come so soon but I welcome it."

Community members started descending on the club's premises and with each citizen's arrival, the noise level increased. Shouts of joy went throughout the sleeping community and with that other persons came to join in the celebrations. A car, which was parked on the premises, substituted for a sound system as it blasted the latest dancehall tunes. The 'compound' was fully transformed into a party scene when club chairman Carvel Stewart arrived with the required spirit.

Long-standing Harbour View supporter, 59-year-old Jah B (Militant Corny), made a grand entry with his huge Harbour View flag in hand and this seemed to even further ignite the gathering.

"Forty-eight years now I have been holding the flag in my hand and I can't get weary, if I don't go to a football match I (feel) sick and if I don't go, I say Harbour View can't win, I am the strength," said Jah B. "I am the number-one supporter and we lost the number-two supporter which is Jean, she died and we miss her and we are going to do a big celebration keeping dance and everything," he added.

Portmore edge closer to safety

Portmore United took another step towards safety after playing to a 0-0 draw with Arnett Gardens on Wednesday in their Digicel Premier League match at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

The result enabled Portmore to maintain their lead atop the second tier of the league table with 43 points, while Arnett remain third from bottom with 39.

Portmore United's coach, Neville 'Bertis' Bell, was satisfied with the point but admitted that he was aiming for all three points, which would have confirmed their participation in next year's competition.

"It is not a bad result away from home if we were in the first round or the second round; at this time in the season we need points," said Bell.

excellent save

The game did not explode into life until the latter stages of the second half with Portmore's Tramaine Stewart forcing an excellent save out of Arnett Gardens custodian, Julian McLeish in the 77th minute.

Arnett Garden's response was immediate. A neat combination between Nicholas Dodd and 62nd-minute substitute Kevin Wilson, allowed the latter into the six-yard box but the Portmore defence and goalkeeper Dwayne Kerr stood firm.

It was, however, Portmore who finished the match stronger as they got two glorious opportunities to steal all three points, first in the 82nd minute when Ricardo Cousins found himself unmarked in the 18-yard box. He unleashed a screamer, which was acrobatically tipped over the bar by McLeish. A minute before full time it was Craig Gayle's turn to be frustrated as his excellent header which seemed destined for the top right-hand corner was magnificently pushed wide by McLeish.

Arnett Gardens' coach, Wayne Fairclough, was disappointed with the result but was nonetheless thankful for the point

"Very disappointed but a point at our home is good enough for us seeing that if we had lost, we would have been in the relegation zone, so right now I am thankful for the point," said Fairclough.

He said little, however, when asked about his team's chances of survival in the league.

"Anything goes, anything is possible," Fairclough said.

- R.J.