Photo: Waterhouse left back Shamari Dyer tried to avoid the lunging tackle of UWI midfielder Rochane Smith during their Red Stripe Premier League game on Sunday at Drewsland. Waterhoue defeated the UWI 3-0 with striker Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson scoring a brace.
Former Red Stripe Premier League champions Waterhouse FC scored their first win of the 2015-16 season from five starts,when they eased to a comfortable 3-0 win over debutants the UWI FC at the Waterhouse Stadium on Sunday, courtesy of a brace from Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson and one from captain Damarley Samuels.
UWI coach Marcel Gayle, who was assistant coach at Waterhouse for many years before qualifying UWI to the premier league, was under no illusions about what to expect and deployed two stoppers to cope with the strike pair of Anderson and Gary McIntosh while having the experienced Nicholas McMorris playing in a sweeper’s roles.
Playing a 5-4-1 formation, UWI started the game well, giving as much as they got in a feisty opening as both teams got stuck in.
Neither goalkeeper had much to do as action was concentrated in the middle of the park and the first UWI effort was fired high and wide by Rochane Smith in the 19th minute.
It took Waterhouse the better part of half an hour to get their first shot on target when a near post effort from Anderson was smartly saved by Amal Knight who dived to his left to gather.
Waterhouse was slowly taking control of the game through the likes midfielders Samuels, Evan Taylor and Romario Campbell as they attacked in waves and Taylor came closest to breaking the deadlock when his fierce drive smashed against the right upright in the 35th minute.
The pressure finally told in the 38th minute when Anderson rose highest to head home a free kick taken near the right corner flag. Knight should have done better as the tame header slipped through his fingers and trickled over the goal line.
Knight did produce another fine save shortly after when he denied Anderson a second but could do nothing about the effort from Samuels in the first minute of first half stoppage time. Teed up by Campbell, Samuels blasted a low drive into the corner of the net from the edge of the box as he stuck the knife deep in the backs of the UWI team.
The second half was a more even contest as both teams worked hard on the very slippery surface caused by a heavy downpour which added to earlier afternoon showers.
Gayle rang the changes for UWI and it almost paid off when Girvon Bown, who replaced the hard working Mitch Wright, latched on to a long ball over the top from Kemar Cummings. He managed to poke his effort towards goal but the striker had to watch as the recovering defender, Nicholy Finlayson, cleared the ball off the goal line.
Anthony Greenland who replaced Ricardo Tracey, forced a save out of Richard McCallum shortly after as the UWI finally got some attacking momentum.
At the other end, Kemar Beckford should have put his team up 3-0 when he ran unto a beautifully weighted cross from Shamari Dyer but headed over a gaping goal, while totally unmarked at the back post.
Anderson had another look at goal but took his effort to early and shot straight at Knight who hung on for dear life.
But with nine minutes to go, Anderson completed the scoring in the game when he was allowed space in the box, by the UWI defenders, to control on his chest before rifling home past Knight from about eight yards, as he increased his goal tally for the season to three.
The one blemish for the Drewsland team was the sending off of Campbell in added time with the game already won.
Winning Coach Calvert Fitzgerald said, “We were pretty confident that we would win games but it is difficult to play four matches and only garner one point, so on that aspect of it we were really disappointed, but we were building, building and knew we would get it (a win).”
Marcel Gayle blamed inexperience for the loss – “I know they have quality, we knew it was going to be a bruising affair, but I think my guys just got a little bit carried away. We were all up in the game…a little bit of youth beat us today, but credit to Waterhouse, I thought they played well,” he said.
Waterhouse is still languishing in 10th place in the league but Fitzgerald in not hitting panic stations just yet.
“No team hasn’t really ran away with the points so I don’t think it’s that tough (to get back in it) we just need to continue (to) work hard and then we will be successful,” he said.
Gayle is banking on the length of the season to be an ally for his team.
“We still have 28 games to play. We just need to focus on the next game away to Harbour View. We are alright now…we will get them organized and motivated and come back again,” he promised.
UWI has slipped back to the bottom of the standings with their three points and with no easy games in this league, will have to work extremely hard if they are to climb out of the drop zone soon.
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