By Paul A. Reid, Senior Staff Reporter WESTERN BUREAU:
FORMER CHAMPIONS Seba United and Reno, who both returned to the National Premier League this season through a special qualifying tournament, were beaten in yesterday's opening games of the new season.
Harbour View edged Seba 1-0 at Jarrett Park through a seventh-minute Fabian Taylor goal while visitors Reno went down 2-0 to Village at the Elleston-Wakeland Community Centre. Fabian Dawkins and Preston Bernard scored for the home team.
In Falmouth, Village dominated the game from the start and looked most likely to score in a game that started under overcast and windy conditions.
Despite the winds bending the corner flags to almost 45-degree angles, the teams started with a lot of balls played in the air and took a while to settle down.
Village had a penalty appeal turned down in the 11th minute when Dwayne Cole was bundled over in the area by the Reno defender Jeffrey Foster.
Village created a number of chances but had to wait until the 72nd minute when Dawkins sent them ahead with a well-taken goal. The national player raced ahead of the Reno defence and latched on to a headed pass from Gregory Simpson and then shot past Aaron Lawrence into the lower far corner of the goal.
The towering Bernard doubled the lead five minutes later when he arrived at the right spot at the right time to head a free kick from Teofore Bennett powerfully downwards rebounding off the ground and back over head of Lawrence into the roof of the net.
At Jarrett Park, the home team appeared flat from the outset and despite creating a number of early chances could not get by the Harbour View defence and goalkeeper Leeroy Grey.
Taylor accepted a gift in the seventh minute and raced by the Seba defence to shoot past a hapless Warren Barrett.
Markeino Gillings found himself on the end of a number of promising Seba build-ups but was not able to find the last touch to convert them.
