H View take last JPL playoff spot

Harbour View FC secured the point they needed to take the final Jamaica Premier League (JPL) playoff spot, playing to a 1-1 draw with Dunbeholden in the final regular season game at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Hayes, Clarendon, yesterday.

Craig Gayle fired Dunbeholden in front after only 15 minutes but Trayvone Reid, with his seventh of the season, six minutes before the break, salvaged a point for the Ludlow Bernard-coached team.

Sean Fraser, Harbour View's assistant coach, said a number of changes to the Dunbeholden regular starting 11 caught them off guard, however, he said the players understood the importance of the game and were not going to throw it away.

"Dunbeholden changed some of their players and those players that they put out, we were not prepared to play against those players," Fraser said after the game. "They came out hungry and wanted to win the game. They hit us early and we had to gather ourselves and refocus on the importance of the game. We weren't worried about the other results, we knew we had to get back a goal. We knew our destiny was in our hands and that once we didn't lose the game, we had an 80 per cent chance of going through. So we expected to get back, even though it was difficult."

Harbour View, Humble Lion, and Tivoli all finished on 28 points but Harbour View finished sixth with a goal difference (GD) of three, Humble Lion ended seventh with a GD of one, and Tivoli eighth with -1.

Tivoli coach Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey rues points dropped prior to yesterday.

"The game that really damaged us was the Waterhouse game," he said. [Those] three points would have proven monstrous today. Also when we lost against Arnett, we knew it would be an uphill task.

"Harbour View only needed a point but we also needed to outscore Humble Lion. So on two sides, we put ourselves in hot water, but we came here today and got the three points. Things didn't turn in our favour in terms of the results in the other games, but we gave it our all and we are happy to end the competition on a high, somewhat."

Meanwhile, Humble Lion eased past Molynes 3-0 with a brace from Javon Smith and a goal from Afiba Chambers.

In other games, Arnett defeated Waterhouse 4-2, Mount Pleasant stopped Portmore 2-1, and Vere beat Montego Bay 1-0.