Waterhouse 1
Vincent Earle 81st pen.
Rafeik Thomas 90+ pen.
RAFEIK THOMAS disappointed Waterhouse supporters by scoring a last-gasp penalty that rescued a point for Harbour View in a 1-1 finish at Drewsland yesterday.
In a game that lit up towards the end, Vincent Earle netted the first of two late penalty goals when he converted from the spot nine minutes from time to lift hopes of a victory and bragging rights among the league heavyweights, who have shared the championship titles on the last two occasions.
However, Thomas put paid to that dream by scoring a penalty in time added on for last year's champions Harbour View.
New format
Under the new format that splits the competitors evenly into the top and bottom six for this final stanza of five rounds, both clubs are in the top six but cannot win the league. Harbour View advanced to 48 points and remained fourth, while Waterhouse maintained fifth, now at 46 points. Portmore United's 2-1 win at Boys' Town (50) pushed them to 67, well out of reach of both teams, with only four rounds remaining.
Still, Waterhouse are aiming to finish as high as possible in the standings and coach Wayne Fairclough was unhappy with the result.
"It's a disappointing result because we had the game from the start to the finish and gave it up in time added," he said.
"Our aim is to finish as high as possible in the league and introduce some new players, some Under-21 players, so they can see how the big league is being played and show them that it is a totally different league from the Under-21s."
The game was the first for Harbour View since it announced relieving Lenworth Hyde Snr. of head coach duties on Tuesday. His assistant who is now in charge, Harold Thomas, also listed exposing young players among his team's current goals, and was encouraged by their response.
Thomas said: "I think it was a well-earned point. We came from behind to draw, I really can't complain. "We are trying to integrate some of the younger players into the team. A lot of them adapted well today. We went behind in the 81st minute and they showed some character to come from behind and equalise.
"It's a matter of evaluating the players in pressure situations and see where it takes us from there. The CONCACAF Champions Cup is coming up right after we finish so there's no rest.
"Our goal right now is to finish as far up the table as we can."
