Photo: Motgo Bay Unted celebrate their second hold on the Red Stripe Premier League title in three seasons after they defeated Portmore United 2-1 in the final at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex on Sunday.
Hollywood could not have done a better job of scripting the 2015-2016 Red Stripe Premier League final on Sunday, as Montego Bay United got the better of regular season champions Portmore United 2-1 at the Catherine Hall Sports Complex, to win their second title in three years in front of joyous home fans.
With so much drama ahead of the final between the owner of Montego Bay United, Orville Powell and the league’s governing body, the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), regarding the starting time for the game, it was only fitting that the tension and excitement continued right up until kick off.
While the fans got to see Portmore United warm up, both the fans and the organizers were made to sweat by Mobay United who took to the field five minutes before the scheduled kick-off, through a side entrance to the field in black t-shirts, to protest what they saw as a lack of respect for their organization by the PLCA.
The home fans who had turned out in their numbers ahead of kick-off, totally against what Powell had suggested, blew their horns incessantly and were clearly anxious to see the game get going.
As nature would have it, the rain started to drizzle at exactly 4:00pm and by the time the teams entered the field followed by the greeting party which was led by Jamaica Football Federation President, Captain Horace Burrell, the heavens opened up almost on cue. (Take a seat Hollywood writers, this script was getting better, on its own).
Teaming rain and a slick surface did not help the quality of play at the start as both teams struggled to get into a rhythm early on in the game.
Portmore came close to breaking the deadlock in the 21st minute but were denied by a brilliant double save from veteran keeper Jacomeno Barrett. Michael Binns fired in a low free kick which Barrett did well to block and the rebound, which fell to Ricardo Morris, was also saved by the Mobay United custodian to keep the game locked at 0-0.
Mobay United failed to register a single shot on target for the first half but almost found a way through on the stroke of half time, when Cory Hylton tried to play in Ronaldo Rodney who failed to continue his run into the box and the chance was lost.
The stalemate in the first half gave way to three goals in the second half, the second of which would have been a fitting strike to win any championship final.
Mobay United broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute when Jermaine Woozencroft benefitted from a loose ball after Portmore United custodian Shaven Sean-Paul had charged into Hylton near the edge of the box and the ball fell kindly to him. With an empty goal to aim at but a recovering defender heading towards the goal line, Woozencroft held his nerve to chip the ball into the unguarded net to make it 1-0.
But Portmore responded in some style when Binns let fly, a 40 yard missile that flew into the top right corner of the goal, beyond the desperate dive of Barrett who was left clutching air as the ball fizzed into the roof of the net in the 73rd minute.
With both sets of spectators now fully worked up, Mobay United striker Dino Williams, who came on with just over 20 minutes left to play in the contest, found the winner ten minutes from time. The man who had led the scoring charts for most of the regular season before heading overseas, was given too much room by the Portmore defence and he took his chance expertly, firing low into the right corner of the net, beyond the despairing dive of Sean-Paul, for what turned out the be the winning goal.
It was the second time that Williams was coming up big for the club in a championship game as he had been the main destroyer of Waterhouse FC in the finals that they won two seasons ago.
“When I analyze the whole football and the teams in Jamaica, if we get our games right no team is going to beat us. (Winning the league) is a good feeling but it is not for me, I win it for Western Jamaica,” said an elated Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis, the head coach of Montego Bay United.
“I am very delighted, no script writer could write this one, knowing that we gonna win this one in front of our home crowd and so much people at that. The crowd really came out and supported us today and we are delighted for that,” said an ecstatic Mobay United captain, Dwayne Ambusley. “Big final, man of the match, can’t sleep tonight,” he stated.
It was the first ever win for Montego Bay United in front of their home fans, as the finals of the competition had never been staged outside of the corporate area before.
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