Portmore youth step up big against Harbour View

Anthony Minott, Gleaner Writer

Portmore United's coach, Linval Dixon, showered praises on his young stars for stepping up massively in his team's 2-1 victory over defending champions Harbour View in their Digicel Premier League match at Ferdie Neita Park in Braeton on Sunday.

All the starters, with the exception of Mario Swaby, were either 23 years or younger.

"The young players really stepped up, they really equipped themselves," said Dixon. "Most of the players were playing just their second and third Premier League games."

He added: "This is a very good win for us. We scored two goals and that is a plus. We just need to emulate this performance for the next game."

Nine points for portmore

The win pushed Portmore to nine points from four games and they are now locked in second place on goal difference with Waterhouse who clipped Reno 1-0. Tivoli Gardens, who also have nine points after whipping Village United 4-0, head the standings on goal difference. Boys' Town, also on nine points, dropped from first to fourth on goal difference following a 1-0 loss to Arnett Gardens.

Errol Stevens (37th) and Steven Morrissey (46th) scored for Portmore, while Jahmali Spence (65th) netted for Harbour View, who slipped to seventh on six points after suffering their second consecutive defeat. They had lost 1-0 to Arnett Gardens in their previous game.

Portmore said goodbye to about 20 senior players during the off-season, therefore many of the Under 21 players had to fill the gap.

Ill-tempered affair

Sunday's clash was an ill-tempered affair and two players - one from either team - were shown the red card. Portmore's substitute, Richard Allen, was shown a straight red card in the 77th minute, while Harbour View's captain, Richard Edwards, was ejected in time added for a second bookable offence.

Donovan Hayles, coach of Harbour View, was visibly upset by the result.

"I'm very disappointed. We gave up two goals to defensive errors, the second goal at the beginning of the second half," he said.

"However, the team showed some fight and we scored a goal. We could have drawn level, we would have hoped to come away with a point," added Hayles. "It is not really good to lose two matches back to back, but all is not lost. We need to make some adjustments for our next game."