Harbour View strike Caribbean Cup first blood
Published:Thursday | August 24, 2023 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
HARBOUR VIEW started their Concacaf Caribbean Club Championships on a winning note, beating local rivals Dunbeholden 1-0 in their opening Group B encounter at Sabina Park yesterday.
Matthew Coke netted the game’s only goal in the 71st minute against the run of play.
Harbour View coach Ludlow Bernard insists that their limited preparation did not allow them to play an expansive game but promised that they would get better and stronger.
“Our lack of preparation would not allow us to put up a stellar showing. But it was not about the show. It was about the three points,” he said.
“Now that we have cleared this particular hurdle, we have players returning and players who should be getting better, so going forward, we should be in much better standing,” he commented.
Harbour View dominated possession to start and created a few good openings.
However, Dunbeholden slowly grew into the game though their best efforts came from long range.
As the game wore on, Dunbeholden took control, with Harbour View losing their fluency.
Good openings would come Dunbeholden’s way, but Dean Andre Thomas wasted two good chances, and Zackiya Wilks could not beat Romario Palma from six yards.
Dunbeholden continued where they left off in the second half, carving out chances in the stanza’s opening minutes.
However, it was Harbour View who took the lead against the run of play when Garth Stewart redirected a corner across the face of goal for Coke to plant a header beyond Damion Hyatt in goal.
Dunbeholden continued to threaten, pushing Harbour View back into their area but could not find an equaliser.
That pressure resulted in some very good chances, Ewan Barton’s header against the post in the final minutes one of the more glaring ones.
“It was very frustrating,” admitted Dunbeholden coach Lenworth Hyde.
“From midway the first half when I saw us getting the chances I was wondering if it was one of those games. But that’s football. You create and create and make one mistake, and it costs you.
“The good thing is that this is the first game. We have time to recover and we just have to continue to work,” he said.