Own goal secures win for Waterford

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

It is every player's dream to score the lone goal in a game.

Unless, of course, that goal is an own goal.

That was the exact position that Campion College's Charles Brown found himself in, which left him asking himself 'why me' after his inadvertent goal condemned his team to a 1-0 home loss to Waterford, in their Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Gatorade/Digicel Manning Cup Group B encounter yesterday.

The loss was Campion's fourth consecutive, to go with a draw, which has left them at the foot of the six-team table with one point.

Last year's beaten finalists Waterford maintained their unbeaten record and racked up their third successive 1-0 win, after an open-round nil-all draw. They now sit second in the group on 10 points, two behind leaders Hydel.

Hydel defeated fourth-place Denham Town (six points) 2-1. In the group's other match Tivoli, who ended the game with 10 players, gave up a stoppage-time equaliser to finish 1-1 against Papine.

Tivoli are third on eight points, while Papine (two) lie fifth.

Brown's own goal came about in the 68th minute when he rose to clear a left-sided corner delivered by Waterford's Raekeem Small, but his powerful header flew into the pigeon hole of his own goal.

Wrong move

"I was trying to clear the ball, but I took my eye off it at the last minute and it hit off the side of my head and went into the goal," Brown explained.

"Mistakes happen, it is just that you have to come back from them and come better in the next game," added the 18-year-old, who played as a striker last season - managing one goal - but has been deployed on the right wing this time around.

Campion's coach Brian Phillpotts-Brown believes the own-goal affected the psyche of the team, but expects Brown to bounce back.

"It definitely affected the team because we were basically playing well and holding our shape, but it is just one of those things," Phillpotts-Brown said. "One thing with Charles (Brown) though is that these things don't really faze him, he will be back tomorrow raring to go."

Waterford could have won the game comfortably had they capitalised on the numerous clear goal-scoring opportunities they created, the best of which came in the 44th minute. Chevaughn Walcott fortuitously gained possession in the area, but with the goalkeeper at his mercy hammered wide from four yards out.

Waterford's coach Michael Williams was pleased with his team's defensive showing, but believes improvements need to be shown on the offensive end. He was, however, grateful for the win, despite the accidental nature of the goal.

"Three points is three points, especially when you are away from home," he said. "But pressure do cause people to make mistakes, and when you make mistakes you have to pay."