Audley Boyd, Assistant Sports Editor

Championship and end-of-round final contenders Waterhouse chose the wrong time to let down their guard - with Village United, hungry for points, lurking.

The third-place team paid dearly as they were punished in a shocking 0-2 result at home against the bottom-placed Trelawny team in their Cash Plus Premier League contest at Drewsland Mini Stadium yesterday.

Still, Waterhouse stayed second in the second-round standings on 19 points, three ahead of Harbour View, while Tivoli Gardens moved to 22 to secure one of two round final spots, with Wednesday's final fixtures remaining. Overall, Waterhouse stay third on 35 points, two adrift Portmore (37) and five less than leaders Tivoli Gardens (40).

Rooted at the bottom

Village United remain rooted to the bottom on 16 points, four adrift August Town.

"We're in the relegation zone but it's not impossible," noted Village's coach, Paul 'Tegat' Davis. "The faith that I have in this team, we just need to take our chances and fight like we did today."

A dramatic turn of events including a Kevin Lamey penalty miss at the 58th minute, contributed significantly to the eventual scoreline, and for Waterhouse, there was an unlucky sequence to every bit of puzzle that slipped into place as the big picture unfurled with goals scored by Troy Smith and Rohan Reid at the 39th and 88th minutes.

First, its first choice custodian, Richard McCallum, picked up a bad injury that forced his substitution.

Having barely spent 10 minutes on the pitch, substitute goalie Preston Smith broadsided Fabian Dawkins in a one-on-one inside the penalty box. Referee Lewin Purser had no choice but to dish out a straight red card to Smith, and award a penalty.

Having already utilised their goalkeeping substitution, Waterhouse pulled big Horace Howell and thrust him between the sticks.

Not surprisingly, the outfield player failed his first goalkeeping test as Smith put the penalty past him to give Village a 1-0 lead.

Waterhouse got a great chance to equalise at the 58th minute, when they were awarded a penalty.

Lamey, the team's leading scorer, did the unbelievable, turning the ball wide of the upright. He buried his face in his palms, as did many fans in the packed stands. They knew their real chance of getting back into the game had gone, a fact underlined by Reid's goal at the death as the homesters pressed anxiously for an equaliser that wasn't forthcoming.

"I think the spirits went down when we saw Kevin Lamey, our top marksman, miss the penalty," surmised Wayne Fairclough, Waterhouse's coach, after the contest.

In a word, he called the loss "disappointing".

"I think we've only ourselves to blame. I think we created numerous opportunities and squandered them in the first half."

Waterhouse 0

Village 2

Troy Smith 39th

Rohan Reid 88th