By Nodley Wright, Staff Reporter 
Rivoli goalscorer Angasha McDermott fends off a challenge from Waterhouse challengers during yesterday's Wray and Nephew National Premier League match at Emmett Park. Rivoli won 1-0. - Michael Sloley /Freelance Photographer
NEWLY-PROMOTED Rivoli yesterday climbed to third position in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League following a 1-0 win over former champions Waterhouse at Emmett Park.
Yesterday's victory marked Rivoli's second successive triumph. In their opening game they lost 2-1 to defending champions Arnett Gardens after taking the lead. They rebounded to beat fellow promoted team Bull Bay in their second game.
Sitting above Rivoli are last year's beaten finalists Hazard United who defeated Reno 2-0 with goals from Trevino Porter and Kirk Ramsay. Hazard inched above the idle Tivoli Gardens who, like Hazard and Rivoli, are on six points.
Harbour View, following their 1-0 win over Constant Spring through a Dino Williams goal, are also on six points but with an inferior goal difference to the other three. In other action yesterday, Bull Bay and Wadadah played to a 1-1 draw at Harbour View which means that both teams remain in the bottom half of the table. Milton Griffiths put Bull Bay in the lead while Gregory Tape equalised for Wadadah.
The Rivoli-Waterhouse match was not the most pleasing thing to the eye, especially in the first half where the action rarely got above the level of scrappy. Waterhouse were having the better of play while their opponents appeared content hitting on the counter.
Waterhouse could have taken the lead in the 18th minute in a game which some times got physical. Forward Andrew Mais had the good fortune to receive a ball which peeled off the head of a defender and fell in his path. He shot high.
Five minutes later, a Damion Powell freekick was scrambled for a corner which Waterhouse failed to capitalise on. Waterhouse almost hit the panic button in the 25th minute when Rivoli captain Patrick Beech cheekily played in Shawn Simpson with goalkeeper Loxley Reid at his mercy.
Simpson's shot at goal from an angle was deflected for a corner.
Waterhouse continued to have the better of play in the second half and their play and the quality of the game stepped up with the introduction of the skillful Demar Phillips and Roberto Fletcher. Rivoli also made changes of their own, bringing on Donovan Smith for Derrick Planter and Garfield Reid for Omar Cummings.
The man who made the most impact for Rivoli though was Angasha McDermott their final substitute.
With his first touch of the game in the 75th minute, he robbed Phillips of the ball, fed Garfield Reid down the right flank and followed the play.
Reid worked his way towards the Waterhouse goal and evaded a challenge from Loxley Reid who rushed out of his goal.
Garfield Reid fired on goal but had his shot cleared off the line by Kirk Campbell. If Waterhouse applauded Camp-bell's efforts, that applause was brief as McDermott slammed home the rebound.
A pleased Rivoli coach Harold Thomas said after the game: "It is early going still but I am glad that we got a victory on the road".
He said the move to introduce McDermott was partly calculated and partly situational.
"The midfielders were getting tired and we know that he has the ability to carry the ball. We, however, were not sure that he could last for 90 minutes but we decided to give him 25 hard minutes and it paid off," Thomas said.
Waterhouse's Calvert Fitzgerald felt that poor defending and the inability to find the back of the net cost his team.
"Some loose defending, very loose defending cost us the goals," Fitzgerald said.
"We created a number of opportunities which normally we would have put away and we did not do that. We just did not finish today and that is about it," he said.
YESTERDAY'S RESULTS
Rivoli 1 Waterhouse 0
Bull Bay 1 Wadadah 1
Hazard 2 Reno 0
Constant Spring 0 Harbour View 1
Seba 0 Village 0
