Photo: Waterhouse Captain Damarley Samuels protects the ball from Harbour View defender Damion Anderson during their Red Stripe Premier League mtach. Waterhouse defeated Harbour View 7-2 at the Waterhouse Mini-Stadium on Monday Night.
Waterhouse FC inflicted total humiliation on Harbour View FC and their embattled manager Andrew ‘Bowa’ Hinds with a brutal victory at the Drewsland Mini Stadium on Monday night as they claimed a famous 7-2 win to go back second in the Red Stripe Premier League.
The former Premier League champions responded in spectacular fashion to Arnett Gardens’s outstanding 3-0 win at Barbican on Sunday to close the gap at the top back to seven points, condemning Harbour View to one of the worst defeats in the club’s history.
Hinds sent out a makeshift side plagued with fatigue and low confidence – but even this cannot excuse the manner in which they were outclassed on all parts of the pitch and swept aside with such ease by Firehouse.
Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson, the self-proclaimed ‘Mr. Monday night,’ lived up to his name in a nine goal thriller. Anderson handed himself a post-birthday present when he hit a superb hatrick on a night that was filled with bittersweet moments. He was well supported by Juvaune Benjamin, and Evan Taylor with a goal each as well as a brace from Tremaine Stewart.
The game got off to a flyer, with only seven minutes on the clock and goal keeperLevar Williams fooling around giving Juvaune Benjamin enough time to close down a back pass. Benjamin stole the ball but his weak effort was denied for a corner kick by the Harbour View custodian. The resulting corner kick whistled past the fortified grasp of goalkeeper Williams and into the path of Benjamin who controlled the ball like a cool and calm cucumber and fired a thunderbolt that almost severed William’s arm as it flew into the net.
Sloppy passing in the heart of Harbour View’s defence almost gifted Bejamin his second of the night just a minute after the game recommenced but his effort soared aimlessly high into the starry night sky. In the first fifteen minutes it was all Waterhouse creating chance after chance but they failed to add to the scoreline
Harbour View registered their first shot in the 17th minute which was deflected behind for a corner kick. Juvaune Benjamin was in spanking form. His mesmerizing skills proved a little too hot for the Harbour view’s defence to handle.
In minute 25, he effortlessly got by three players before laying the ball off on a platter to the birthday boy Anderson who accepted his gift with open arms and rifled a hard low shot to the right of Williams for a two goal cushion.
Clearly the Stars of the East were at the party but refused to dance. Five minutes later Firehouse supporters were dancing up a storm again when National player Evan Taylor gave Harbour View strikers a shooting lesson as he laced a pile driver from 30 yards out. Williams just stood and watched in amazement as it flew in the roof of the net.
Jermaine Hue reduced Firehouse’s three-goal advantage with a well taken effort in minute 32 but Anderson superlative strike in minute 38 restored the 3 goal cushion for the home team.
On the resumption, Firehouse picked up were they left off by stroking the ball around the park with alacrity similar to how Don Shirley would caresses the piano, much to the delight of the jubilant home supporters who cheered every pass made.
Ranique Muir’s early second half strike represented some measure of consolation for a dispirited Harbour View.
In minute 61 McKaully Tulloch thunderbolt brought the best out of goalkeeper George Brown who dived acrobatically to his right and fisted it out. Later on, Captain Beckett with a sterling effort from the edge of the box was shocked to be denied by Brown.
With the scores at 4-2, the action man Juvaune Benjamin who had already earned his place on the score sheet and two assists to his credit, was in search for more goals when disaster struck. In trying to get on to the end of a Taylor pass, he collided with goalkeeper Williams in a 50/50 challenge and suffered a broken leg. The game halted for 7+ minutes for the medical team to attend to him before whisking him off to hospital.
This left a bitter taste in the mouths of players and spectators from both sides. Waterhouse decided to further put Harbour View to the sword when Tremiane Stewart started and finished what was undoubtedly the best team play of the night, with a flamboyant strike in the 85th minute.
Three minutes before the end of regulation time, the hatrick hero dipped in and out of the box to get by his marker, then shot wide of the keeper for his third. In the time added on, Stewart was on target again to further rub salt in Harbour View’s wound.
Drewsland was understandably exultant at the conclusion of such a carnival performance but Hines now faces defining days of his HVFC reign. This result underscores the gulf that has opened up between Waterhouse and Harbour View and Hines will now seek to address the weaknesses in his squad.
Andrew Hines was hopeful that his team could respond to the heavy defeat.
“This is just a bad situation and let us use this as platform in resurrecting ourselves in going forward. We had our moments but failed to put them away. It was unfortunate to see Benji (Juvaune Benjamin) going out with a broken leg. No coach or player would ever want that to happen to another player.”
Anthony Patrick waxed eloquently about the performance of his troops.
“I switched the team up: pulled my captain Benjamin from right midfield to the center of the park behind the two strikers and stay close to Beckett. I also asked Tremiane and Romario to handle the ball better than the last game. Our leader, goal scorer in the Jackie Bell competition being out injured, will pose some amount of problem but it won’t be anything that we can’t fix by Thursday.”
Waterhouse will now turn their attention to the final of the Jackie Bell Knock-Out on Thursday where they will hunt their first piece of silverware for the season.
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