Defending champions Cavalier got the new Jamaica Premier League season underway with a win against Arnett Gardens FC in an enthralling encounter at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence in Kingston.
Central defender, Jamoi Topey, gave Cavalier the lead in the 60th minute before Chavany Willis got an equaliser that he thought would salvage a draw in the 96th minute.
Cavalier forward Shaniel Thomas had other ideas as he slotted home a right-footed effort in the 97th minute to secure a win and three points for the two-time champions.
The second match on Sunday was also an exciting one between four-time champions Waterhouse FC and Montego Bay United, who have also won the title four times.
Montego Bay United took the lead in the 57th minute through Giovanni Reid before Waterhouse equalised in the 72nd minute through an Andre Fletcher penalty.
Waterhouse completed the comeback in the 81st minute through a goal from Devroy Grey. The action then shifted to Monday, January 17 with two more matches.
Dunbeholden FC and Vere United FC contested the first game with Dunbeholden securing a 2-1 victory.
They took the lead in the eighth minute through an excellent header from Atapharoy Bygrave before Lampard Neil tied things up for Vere in the 57th minute.
Substitute Jahmiel Hardware secured the three points for Dunbeholden with a well-placed free kick in the 92nd minute.
In the second match, goals from Warner Brown in the 42nd minute and Shai Smith in the 87th minute ensured that five-time winners Tivoli Gardens FC and seven-time winners Portmore United FC played out a 1-1 draw.
On Tuesday, four-time champions Harbour View FC and Molynes United FC played out a 2-2 draw thanks to double strikes from Trayvon Reid and Nicholas Nelson.
Nelson gave Molynes United the lead in the 42nd minute before Reid made it 1-1 in the 45th minute.
The 58th minute saw Nelson get his second to give Molynes United a 2-1 lead before Reid once again equalized in the 90th minute to ensure the points were shared.
In the second game on the day, goals from Daniel Green in the 14th and 43rd minutes, as well as strikes from Allan Ottey in the 17th, Ricardo Morris in the 45th, and Donovan Segree in the 90th helped Mount Pleasant FA secure the biggest win of the round, a 5-1 rout of Humble Lion FC.
Cory Hylton got Humble Lion’s consolation goal in the 83rd minute.
The second round of matches kicks off on Saturday.
Tivoli Gardens soared into the last four of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) with a rousing 4-0 second-leg win over Vere United at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Wednesday.
After a scoreless first leg between the team, goals from Stephen Barnett, Trayvone Reid, Horatio Morgan, and Jermaine Johnson blew the tie wide open, and perhaps at the end of the tie flattered the West Kingston squad.
Barnett got things rolling in the 18th minute when he was served up with a well-weighted cross from Delroy Grey, which he was able to deflect neatly into the corner of the goal.
With Vere pushing to get back into the game, it was Tivoli who struck after catching their opponents on the counterattack. Reid broke away from a high Vere backline before calmly slotting the ball around goalkeeper Shavon Wilson to double the lead in the 62nd minute.
A loosely marked Morgan then slotted the ball into the net at close range after being picked out from a corner in the 83rd minute. Veteran Johnson then rubbed salt into the wounds of Vere Technical after coming off the bench to score a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time.
In the day’s other game, Mount Pleasant also advance to the semi final's following a 1-1 draw with Harbour View to advance 4-2 on aggregate. The Stars of the East started the game on fire after Oshane Staple found the back of the net in the first five minutes. Needing a goal to tie the aggregate score, however, Harbour View had a mix-up at the back, which allowed Jourdaine Fletcher to ghost in and tie the game at 1-1.
Mount Pleasant secured the early advantage in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) quarterfinals following a 3-1 first-leg win over Harbour View at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre For Excellence on Saturday.
After a positive start to the encounter by the Stars of the East, it was Mount Pleasant who gradually gained the ascendency. The Montego Bay-based franchise took the lead through 17-year-old forward Devonte Campbell in the 30th minute as he blasted past Harbour View keeper Tafari Chambers at his near post.
With the game in the balance, Kesslan Hall sprinted on to an inch-perfect Daniel Green rainbow pass over the backline and chipped over the head Chambers and into the back of the net in the 55th minute. Jourdaine Fletcher’s neat finish in the 75th minute put Mount Pleasant in complete control but Tyrese Williams gave Harbour View a lifeline after heading home from close range in time added on. In the day’s other match, Tivoli Gardens and Vere United ended in a 0-0 draw.
Defender Kyle Ming scored in the 84th minute to hand Cavalier a hard-fought 1-0 win over Vere United and seal a semi-final spot in the Jamaica Premier League on Saturday.
During the match played at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, Ming latched onto a beautiful defence-splitting pass from Melvin Doxilly and fired past the advancing goalkeeper Kadeem Davis.
It was a crucial win for Cavalier that saw them leapfrog both Tivoli Gardens and Mount Pleasant into second place and an automatic semi-final playoff spot. With their fifth win of the season, Cavalier now have 18 points, the same as Mount Pleasant but with a superior goal difference.
Waterhouse FC leads the league with 19 points.
Clarendon-based Vere United was suffering their fourth defeat and remained in fifth on 15 points.
This result also means that both Waterhouse and Cavalier will earn a bye into the semi-finals as the top two teams while Vere United will clash with fourth-placed Tivoli Gardens in the two-legged quarter-final playoff.
The other quarterfinal playoff will see third-placed Mount Pleasant will meet sixth-placed Harbour View also over two legs.
The winners of these two playoff series will face Waterhouse and Cavalier in the semi-final round.
Winning coach Rudolph Speid of Cavalier was satisfied with his young team improving with every game.
“We were playing too conservative because we were aware of the counter but in the second half, if you noticed, Kyle Ming started pushing up a lot more, getting more aggressive with his runs and that was a plan for us and it paid off,” Speid explained.
“Early in the season, we were playing for players to have personal milestones but in the latter, it’s all teamwork now and we playing for the team now.”
Meanwhile, losing coach Donovan Duckie said there is nothing they could have done to prevent that goal as the pass was world-class.
“It was a brilliant pass. It’s been a while since I have seen a pass break three lines and kudos to Cavalier. They would have advanced to the second spot and we are in the top six,” said Duckie.
“We are looking forward to the first game in the quarterfinal and we are looking to return to full strength. Our short term goals are there and it is a reality for us to compete for the title and we are in it to win it.”
Tivoli Gardens moved into a playoff spot Saturday following a hard-fought 1-0 win over league leaders Vere United at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence.
Vere United drubbed Humble Lion 3-1 in a drama-filled Clarendon derby in the Jamaica Premier League at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Sunday.
In addition to the four goals, there were six yellow cards, one to Vere’s head coach Donovan Duckie, and two red cards. It all climaxed when Anjay Gayle, who came on as a substitute in the 90th minute for Kevin Johnson, scored in the 92nd minute.
Johnson, who had come on for Tyrese Harrison in the 67th minute, was substituted because coach Donovan Duckie was determined to get Gayle into the game.
Before all that, Man-of-the-Match Ricardo Messam scored two goals of high quality - in the 27th and 57th minutes - that proved to be cornerstones of the Vere United victory.
Vere United took the lead after Humble Lion’s defender Kemar Drake failed to clear his area, allowing Messam to slot home. Andrew Vanzie would pull Humble Lion level in the 37th minute from the penalty spot for a handball in the box.
Four minutes later, things began to go downhill for Humble Lion when defender Linval Lewis was ejected after picking up his second yellow card. A man short, Humble Lion conceded a second goal when Messam tapped home after the ball rebounded into his path.
Following what was their second win of the season, Vere climbed into a tie with Harbour View at the top of the table on eight points. However, Harbour View are ahead on goal difference.
Humble Lion, meanwhile, are without a point at the foot of the table after their fourth consecutive loss, which left Head Coach Andrew Price livid.
“We keep shooting ourselves in the foot every week and getting that red card so very early in the first half, we were always behind the eight ball and had to battle against a team with a numerical advantage,” Price said.
“We have to find ways of managing and playing the game properly. We have to play with some common sense and we not doing that right now, which is unfortunate, and giving up goals that the opponents don't have to work hard for.”
Meanwhile, Duckie was more than satisfied with the three points.
“Well, full credit to my team. It’s a derby game and we know exactly what would have happened. I thought the referee had his hands full but did the best he could,” he said.
“We scored some goals today which is unlike us because we started to play from a defensive position but I thought the guys stuck to the task and it was hard work that gave us the victory.”
Waterhouse and Vere United battled to a 0-0 stalemate in their Jamaica Premier League match at the Stadium East field.
Vere United are showing that they belong with another sturdy, well-organized display that earned them a share of the points with their more celebrated opponents. The team that flirted with relegation in the last campaign have now climbed to fourth spot with five points, the same as Waterhouse, who are third because of a better goal difference.
However, it was a game that Waterhouse should have won as they created more and better chances throughout. The Drewsland-based team had 16 shots, seven of them on target and enjoyed 55 per cent of the possession.
Meanwhile, the Clarendon-based Vere United had only two shots and one on target, but they stuck to their game plan and defended stoutly, led by the uncompromising Ricardo Campbell, who was voted Man-of-the-Match.
Head coach Donovan Duckie said he was pleased with sharing the points against one of the league’s best teams.
“We knew that getting a point from this game would be a good achievement for us,” said Duckie. “We understand what is against us, those teams were playing in the CONCACAF league and are more prepared than us and I thought we did exceptionally well.”
Waterhouse’s assistant coach Damion Gordon thought his team played well but just did not get the desired result.
“I am not disappointed with the performance of the team but with the result. We did move the ball in changing the point of attack but they defended well,” said Gordon. “It’s a game-by-game situation and there will be games like this.”
Vere United and Molynes United played to a gloomy 0-0 stalemate in their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) game at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, the University of the West Indies on Monday.
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