By Raymond Graham, Freelance WriterIF RIVOLI were hoping for a morale-boosting win going into Sunday's end of round final it was not to be as their jinx against Harbour View continued when they were beaten 3-1 at the Prison Oval in their Wray and Nephew NPL encounter yesterday.
Goals from the competition's leading scorer, Fabian Taylor, Jermaine Hue and Donald Stewart gave the east Kingston team an emphatic victory while Devon Hodges got the consolation goal for the home team.
Going into the game with Sunday's final on his mind, Rivoli coach Bradley Stewart rested five of his regular starters, including goalkeeper Dennis Clayton, as most of them had picked up two yellow cards in previous matches and he did not want to risk them before going into the final.
The home team got off to a great start as with the game just two minutes old, Rivoli took the lead much to the delight of their vociferous supporters. Captain Patrick Beech rifled a shot from some 30 yards out and goalkeeper Leroy Gray could only parry the ball to the feet of Hodges, who made no mistake by firing the ball into the back of the net.
SEVERE PRESSURE
Despite taking the early lead, Rivoli found themselves under severe pressure from the Donovan Hayles-coached team and it was no surprise when Harbour View drew level in the 32nd minute. The home team paid the price by allowing their opponents too many free kicks from just outside the penalty area. After missing the spot on three previous occasions, dead ball specialist Hue made no mistake the next time around as the ball went into the pigeon hole out of the reach of substitute goalkeeper Marshall Nelson.
The visitors went into the lead in the 36th minute when the Rivoli goalkeeper threw the ball on to the back of one of his defenders and the alert Hue controlled it and dribbled inside the penalty area before crossing to Stewart who made no mistake by kicking past a hapless Nelson in goal.
Harbour View continued to dominate the game in the second half and Taylor showed why he is the leading goalscorer this season when he added to his tally in the 65th minute.
C Spring beat Seba
Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
CONSTANT SPRING capitalised on two errors by the Seba United defence to beat the Montego Bay team 2-0 as the two struggling clubs met at Jarrett Park in their last game in the second round of the Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL).
Nicolas McMorris in the 17th minute and Sheldon Wedderburn in the 48th scored for Constant Spring in a game that saw three players - two from the visitors and one from Seba - receiving injuries that forced them out of the game.
Constant Spring's Oniel Blake and Seba United's Denton Vidal were both taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in the first half as both men had shoulder dislocations in separate incidents. Constant Spring's Garfield Gillespie was also substituted in the second half with a bad gash near his left eye.
The game was not one of high quality but was satisfactory to Constant Spring's coach, Jeffrey Maxwell, who said he had an eye on the groupings for the next round.
Arnett whip Star Cosmos
ARNETT GARDENS continued to distance themselves from the relegation zone in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League, whipping the team at the very bottom, Star Cosmos, 4-0 at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.
St. Lucian juvenile Jarvin Streete, who came in through the transfer window this month, scored for the second consecutive game in only his third game, while the other goals were netted by Kwame Richardson, Leon Strickland and Walter Boyd, who marked his return to the team after a long absence with a free-kick goal.
Arnett extended their best sequence all season to claim 10 points with three wins and a draw in their past four matches to finish the second round on 14 points and improve their overall tally to 28, a clear seventh ahead of Constant Spring (25).
