Hamilton gives H View JPL semi advantage

Harbour View's Nicholas Hamilton's 81st-minute strike gave them a 1-0 win in a keenly contested Jamaica Premier League (JPL) first leg semi-final against Waterhouse at Sabina Park on Sunday evening.

However, despite the advantage, Harbour View head coach Ludlow Bernard said the tie is far from over.

"It is always good to win, but it is not over," he said. "We still have 90 minutes to play and we are playing against a very good Waterhouse team who we know will not take this very lightly.

"We need to keep our composure and stick to whatever plans we come up with. They have good players, and experienced players who can turn the screws, so we have to be mindful."

Both teams started well, trading good attacks and creating good openings of which they failed to take advantage.

Waterhouse looked more dangerous and Denardo Thomas should have done better with a header late in the first half.

Harbour View were not to be outdone and only the efforts of goalkeeper Kemar Foster denied Phillon Lawrence in the 28th minute.

After the interval, Foster had to be alert to block Timar Lewis's acute free kick, while Oshane Staple had a good header moments later.

Trayvone Reid then had two great chances on the hour, but dragged one off the post, then lifted the other over the bar.

Waterhouse continued to have their moments but lacked the cutting edge they had first half.

Their best break came in the 73rd minute when Anthony Bennett spilled a ball and Rohan Beadle kicked straight back at the goalkeeper before Keithy Simpson dragged the rebound wide. Simpson then had an effort cleared off the line minutes after.

At the other end, Foster had to react quickly to stop a deflected shot from Colorado Murray.

However, substitute Hamilton broke the deadlock when he hit a precise curling left-footed shot that gave Foster no chance.

"We wanted to start on the front foot and exploit some spaces at the back, but it wasn't on in this game," Waterhouse assistant coach Daniel Bent commented. "We lost a bit of competitive edge after two weeks without competition. There were some things we identified and worked on, but it did not bear fruit today, but on Wednesday it definitely will."

In the other semi-final, Dunbeholden, through Peter McGregor's 20-minute header, also took a 1-0 win over defending champions Cavalier, heading into Wednesday's second leg at the same venue.