Photo: Damion Harwood scored a brace for Harbour View against Montego Bay United but it was not enough for the defending champions to record their first victory over their opponents this season as the game ended 2-2.
Defending champions Harbour View and Montego Bay United played out an exciting 2-2 draw in the first leg of their two-way semi-final at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium last night.
The game was delayed by over an hour due to a power failure in the area and when the game eventually got under way it was the home team that got the dream start that either team would have been hoping for.
A giveaway in the final third by a Mobay United player was pounced upon by Harbour View and Damion Harwood had the easiest to tap-ins from, almost on the goal line, when Brian Brown calmly rolled the ball across the face of the goal with less than sixty seconds on the clock.
Harbour View did not rest on the one goal lead, but instead took the game to the visitors as they pinned back Mobay United in their half. The shock inclusion of Jermaine Hue from the start, after the player had missed the entire season due to a FIFA imposed drug suspension, almost bore dividends in the 15th minute, when a delightful pass from the left footed ‘maestro’ fell into the path of Brown. The strikers shot went just wide of the upright.
Mobay’s first real attack of the game came in the 20th minute but a shot from an unbalanced Dino Williams went well wide of the target after he capitalized on a slip from Harbour View’s Dicoy Williams.
Seven minutes later Harbour View were cruising when Harwood rose majestically to power home a right sided cross from Xavian Virgo, making it 2-0 with just about a quarter of the game played.
But Harbour View had not beaten Mobay United in three league games this season and the visitors were fortuitously let back into the game, when Dicoy Williams put through his own net under pressure from Dino Williams in the 34th minute.
The goal seemed to give life to the visitors as they grew in the ascendency but the half ended with Harbour View leading 2-1.
After a fairly tame opening to the second half, Jermaine Hue brought the home fans to their feet when he unleashed a beautiful curler to the far post, from just outside the area. Jacomeno Barrett had to dive full stretch to his right to palm the ball away to safety in the 62nd minute.
Dino Williams could have drawn the visitor’s level shortly after when he was played in by Lesly St. Fleur following a Mobay United counter-attack from a Harbour View corner, but the tall striker went for power instead of placement and his shot ended up in row Z.
Action was now swinging from end to end with both teams in the hunt for goals.
Harwood could have written his name in lights by claiming his hat-trick after he danced past a defender and found himself one on one with Barrett, only to fire straight at the keeper who blocked with his feet. The home fans were still groaning about the missed opportunity when Dino Williams blasted past Levor Williams in the Harbour View goal to make it 2-2 after another swift counter-attack on minute 67.
With just about a quarter of the game left to play, both teams gave it their all to find the go-ahead goal but there was no further clear cut opportunities for either side. Habour View suffered a late set-back when skipper Montrose Phinn was ejected from the game for a second bookable offence three minutes from time and will miss the return leg.
A somber looking head coach of Harbour View, Andrew Hines, was hopeful about the return leg in a few days time, “In the play-offs the nature of the game is more competitive. The team that comes more prepared and plays harder will win. The finishing was not as good as it should have been today and we will have to work on it for the second leg.”
Mobay United head coach Dean Weatherly was succinct in his assessment saying, “it is do or die now. There is no other game so we must get the win at home.”
Montego Bay United will no doubt go into the return leg on Sunday the more confident team as they have not been beaten by the defending champions in four attempts, including three games at Harbour View.
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