Portmore take the lead

Nodley Wright, Gleaner Writer

Portmore United stormed to the top of the National Premier League table when they defeated Waterhouse 2-1 at Drewsland on a day when only two teams won.

Eric Vernan and Alanzo Adlam found the back of the net for Portmore United while Gary McIntosh was responsible for the Waterhouse's goal, as Waterhouse slipped a place to fifth.

The former champions were not the only ones to lose ground as the defending champions, who entered the day a point off Sporting Central, ended the day in second position after playing to a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Sporting Central Academy, who are now in third position.

The top-of-the-table clash between Tivoli Gardens and Sporting Central did not quite get up to the level that was expected and stood out more for the physical play more than the artistry that was expected of the two leading teams. Leslie St Fleur, who gave Sporting Central the lead, was a battered and bruised man at the end of the game as he came in for some harsh treatment.

Near miss

Christopher Nicholas almost treated the fans to a goal of class and, with it, would have stolen the game for the home team. The former national Under-20 star rolled back the years with a fine six-minute performance. The 30-year-old, who was a star for his community at the schoolboy and the NPL level, stepped on the bench in the 88th minute to replace Devon Hodges with the score at 1-1 and Tivoli Gardens down to 10 men.

Despite not being the fittest, he showed that he still had the brain and the touch. In time added, the burly striker took the ball on his chest with a man on his back, turned and drove a solid shot from about 35 yards which struck the crossbar and rebounded into play as the Tivoli fans put their hands to their heads.

"I am working on it. I just need to get back to 100 per cent and you will see," said Nicholas at the end of the game.

Following St Fleur's 26th minute opener, Navion Boyd, who was being cursed by some of his own fans, gave them something to cheer about when he beat goalkeeper Sanchez Lloyd in the 62nd minute to level the score.

'Good game'

"It was a good game from both teams. I think we created enough chances to have come away with a victory today but I am not disappointed," a relaxed Sporting Central coach Vassel Reynolds said.

"I am very pleased. We have always come here and done well but at least this time we came away with a point which I am fairly satisfied with it," he added.

Tivoli Gardens' Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey praised Sporting Central for their play.

"It was a very interesting game. A very hard-fought game and you could see why they (Sporting Central) are doing so well. They came and ran at us today especially in the first half," Bailey pointed out.

"In the second half we gathered ourselves, started to move the ball around and looked more purposeful. We had hard luck in the first half but that is football. Once we lost that player to the red card it would have been an uphill task. We are still unbeaten after eight games but we just have to turn one point into three," a satisfied Bailey said.

Standings in the National Premier League (Tabulated under Teams, P-Play, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Lose, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD ‹ Goal Difference and Pts-Points.

ROUND TWO STANDINGs