Kemar Foster, one of the most influential shot stoppers in the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League, produced a gritty goalkeeping display to ensure Waterhouse edged Vere United 1-0 in a lively contest at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex on Monday.

Foster, who often partners Reggae Boyz captain Andre Blake on national duties, made a number of saves to shutout Vere United in a dazzling performance that pushed the Drewsland-based team over the line after Revaldo Mitchell’s solitary 24^th-minute strike.

The 31-year-old Foster displayed unbeatable form, which underlined his credentials. He claimed crosses, shut down angles and even went full stretch to tip shots around and over his goal frame. Nothing was too much to ask of Foster on the day, as he flew around his box, putting his body on the line to deny Vere United.

It’s gritty goalkeeper performances like this that keep teams in the hunt for championship honours, and the shutout not only handed Waterhouse three points, but also propelled them back into the top six on 26 points, two points ahead of seventh-placed Dunbeholden, and three ahead of eighth-placed Montego Bay United, their closest pursuers. Vere United on the other hand, remains 10^th on 19 points.

Foster, who required medical attention on a few occasions, felt he was exposed too often, but expressed content with his display between the sticks, which is sometimes overlooked.

“In the midfield, I think we gave Vere too much space to play and they did play. Teams will hurt you once you give them space, but I am fortunate to come out with a clean sheet,” Foster said in a post-game interview.

“It (goalkeeping duty) is rough to be honest, you have to stay focus after a game like this and not get ahead of yourself, and also ensure you recover properly and rest when possible before hitting training hard again. This is the best performance I had so far this season, it’s a long season, so I am hoping I can have many more like this going forward.” he added.

After a spirited start, it took Vere United 15 minutes to ask their first question of Foster, and the custodian proved equal to the task when he went full-stretch to his right to parry Odane Murray’s stinging right-footed effort.

That may have been the wake-up call Waterhouse needed, as they got into their rhythm shortly after, and eventually found the go-ahead goal. It came when Navardo Blair’s free kick sparked a melee, which ended with Mitchell tucking home from close range after Javane Bryan and Andre Fletcher’s efforts were desperately kept out by Javier Brown on the goal line.

Though they continued to threaten in open play, Waterhouse failed to add to their tally, as numerous half-chances were squandered and, as such, the score remained unchanged at the break.

Like they did at the start, Vere United came out more purposeful on the resumption, but unlike the first half, they didn’t allow Waterhouse a look-in on this occasion, and were only denied by Foster’s resilience.

It took two great saves in quick success by Foster to deny Vere United in the 54th, as he first blocked Kemar Beckford’s well-struck left-footed shot and recovered well to parry Justin Cohen’s acrobatic effort on the rebound.

Vere pressed the ascendancy and found a couple more openings in the latter stages of the contest from which they again tested Foster’s mettle in their probe to pull level.

Javon Smith got on the end of weighted Javier Brown corner kick with a firm header, but Foster got down well to his right to squeeze out the effort at his near post.

And even with the game nearing its end, Vere United’s substitute Lorenzo Lewin unleashed a well-struck snapshot, and Foster again came up big in time added to ensure his team secured all three points.

Waterhouse’s assistant coach Damion Gordon hailed the defensive line for holding firm as their attacking front came up short.

“The big question surrounds our consistency. I thought our first half was very good and they (Vere United) were clearly better than us in the second half, but in terms of our defensive structure, I think we did well,” he said.

For Vere United’s Head coach Linval Dixon, there is cause for concern over his team’s failure to convert a goal in five straight games, but he is also mindful that it is not for a lack of trying.

“Not scoring goals is disturbing for us because we have really been working hard in training to score, so it is cause for concern. But we are still working, and we are still fighting. It is just that we came up against a national goalkeeper and he was the difference in the game. I can’t fault the team for effort so like I said, we will continue working because when we start scoring things will change,” Dixon declared.