Waterhouse clip unlucky Portmore

Nodley Wright, Gleaner Writer

Former champions Waterhouse on Sunday cemented their fourth place in the Digicel Premier League (DPL) with a 1-0 win over rivals Portmore United at the Waterhouse Mini Stadium.

The win, which came courstesy of a well-executed strike by Kemar Rodney in the 42nd minute, was their second win over Portmore United in successive games, as they seek to rebuild their confidence and regain form towards the end of a season which went off the rails.

While the strike by Rodney was exquisite, the goal really was a result of the industry of Akeem Thenstead and teamwork.

Thenstead, the pocket-sized livewire, countered down the left flank and got behind the Portmore defenders before crossing low and firm for the onrushing Kenardo Forbes, who was unable to make contact. Weston Forrest followed up and unselfishly caressed it into the path of the onrushing Rodney, who drove home low and hard from the edge of the 18-yard box.

Portmore United, struggling to score all season, must have cursed their luck as they had the better of play, but could not make that level of superiority show on the scoresheet.

Despite the loss, coach Linval Dixon was not very hard on his players.

"It was not a bad performance overall. The first half was really, really good. Of course, when we gave up that goal we were a bit too comfortable and they caught us on the counter. I really think we should have scored, especially in the first half. In the second half, I don't think we created enough chances, but overall we created enough that we should have had a result," Dixon said.

no scoring

"The cry all season is that we have not been scoring, and once you do not score you really have no say in where you finish in the game. We could say that the surface was not ideal for playing, but both teams played on it and they made better use of it, so they have to be congratulated on their performance and the result that they got," added the former national defender, who said he will continue to give the players opportunity.

Waterhouse's Anthony Patrick was full of praise for his charges, saying they followed the instructions of the coaching staff and reaped rewards.

"I think it was a gutsy performance from our team. In the first half we chose to stay behind the ball because we knew Portmore were going to come at us, so our plan was to hit them on the counter and we did that and got a well-taken goal," a smiling Patrick said.

"In the second half, our approach was to be a bit more patient and to catch them on the counter again, but they never came at us again. But we are satisfied with the result. The players have responded well to what we have tried to instill, and we will continue to try and introduce a number of new players in the remaining games," added Patrick.

In another game on Sunday, St Georges Sports Club netted an important 2-1 away victory over St Ann team Benfica at Drax Hall.

Richardo Watson (5th) and Damion Harwood (90+3) scored for St Georges, while Carlos Smith (62nd) netted Benfica's goal.

Victory catapulted St Georges over Benfica to 39 points, while the latter dropped to the bottom of the standings on 37 points, the same as Clarendon's Humble Lion.