By Paul-Andre Walker, Staff ReporterNICHOLAS MCCREATH'S double settled the east versus west showdown as Harbour View moved one step closer to defending their JNBS Federation Cup title with a comfortable 3-1 win over Tivoli Gardens in yesterday's quarter-final match at the Harbour View Mini Stadium.
McCreath struck in the 13th and 37th minutes of play whereas Daniel Shaw scored Harbour View's second goal in the 34th. Tivoli pulled back a consolation goal in the 65th minute through Lenworth Hyde Jr.
Harbour View's win means they will meet Super League team Santos in the semi-finals after Richard West scored a sudden-death extra-time goal to give his team a 1-0 win over Rivoli at the Prison Oval.
At the compound, the markings were already on the wall with Harbour View starting the game much faster than a tired looking Tivoli team and 13 minutes into the match the visiting crowd showed no surprise to see their team down by a goal.
Tivoli coach Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey was quick to attribute the slow start to the hectic schedule his team has undergone over the last week.
"Three matches down in Montego Bay in one week, very demanding, and it showed out there today," he said. The guys were complaining about feeling tired but we can now concentrate on the big competition, the one we started the season focusing on," he said.
Tivoli attacks stopped in the middle of the park whereas Harbour View's moves looked incisive and it was one which brought the first goal.
Jomo Gordon, who started brightly, ran down the right flank and lobbed a cross to the boot of an unmarked McCreath who had all the time in the world to place his one-time volley just inside the near post and past the outstretched arms of Tivoli custodian, Edsel Scott.
Tivoli picked up the pace after that and while not creating many real chances, they had the majority of the ball until Harbour View struck again this time against the run of play.
Craig Stewart, playing left-back in place of Robert Scarlett, drove a fierce left foot shot onto the right upright, the resulting rebound was pounced upon by Shaw, who had been playing out of his socks after his long absence from the game.
Three minutes later Harbour View once again pronounced destruction upon their opponents from the boot of McCreath, who was again the recipient of a Gordon pass. This time McCreath picked up the ball on the half line and making it a foot race between himself and Kasai Hinds, got into the area first and coolly slotted the ball past a hapless Scott.
The second half didn't produce the same excitement as did the first with Harbour View seemingly content with three goals and Tivoli not finding the spark they needed to get back in the game.
The only highlight of the second half was Hyde's elegant dummy to round Harbour View custodian Leon Gordon to give the visitors a glimmer of hope that the unforgiving clock was soon to erase.
Harbour View coach Donovan Hayles had high praises for Tivoli's second half performance but pointed out that his team were at fault as well.
"We definitely did all the hard work during the first half and it was a good thing that we had the goals to show for it because the second half was all Tivoli and I think they maintained their composure and did the right things but we became flat mentally and we need to do better than that," he said.
Village outclass Invaders in Trelawny derby
Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
VILLAGE UNITED yesterday confirmed they were a class, or even a league, above neighbours Invaders, notching a 2-0 win in their Jamaica National Federation Cup quarter-final knockout game at the Elliston Wakeland Centre.
It was not the margin of victory that made the statement for Village but the fact that they fielded only three players who would be considered regular starters and had only one person on the bench - Shane Crawford, who was still not fully fit.
Village fielded just 12 players as they had sent a team to the Cayman Islands for a two-game series against that country's national team.
Central defender Kirk Hendricks, newly-acquired midfielder Adeyemi Abiodun and midfielder/forward Daniel Ricketts were the only three regular starters. Howard Reid, Marlon Fletcher and second string goalkeeper Kirk Williams were normally fixtures on the bench.
To make up their numbers, Village fielded a number of Under-21 players such as defender Jeff Pearce, who had an excellent game, and 16-year-old midfielder Troy Smith, who did not look out of place.
ROUGH TREATMENT
Ricketts and Abiodun consistently looked like Village's most dangerous players and Abiodun especially came in for some rough treatment from the Invaders midfielders and defenders. Ricketts gave a sign of what was to come when in the 22nd minute he let fly a volley from just outside the 18-yard box. It went just wide. His next effort would not.
Five minutes later Invaders' best player, goalkeeper and captain Richard McCallum, suffered an injury to his knee in a collision with Ricketts. McCallum tried to stay in the game but had to be replaced a minute later.
Within a minute of taking the field substitute goalkeeper Jermaine Maxwell was plucking the ball from the back of his net courtesy of Ricketts.
Marlon Fletcher, who was partnering Ricketts up front, played a ball in from the right flank. Ricketts shuffled a few steps forward before curling a low left-footer past Maxwell.
After missing a number of chances, Fletcher finally found the back of the net in the 70th minute. This time Ricketts was the provider. His defence-splitting pass was perfect for Fletcher, who sent a low right-footer into the left hand corner of the net.
Phillips stars for Waterhouse
Daraine Luton, Freelance Writer
WATERHOUSE YESTERDAY made a strong bid for their first hold on the JNBS Federation Cup with an impressive 3-1 win over Portmore United at Drewsland.
Led by two spectacular goals from Demar Phillips (ninth and 41st minutes) and a well executed free kick by Kevin Lamey in time-added, Waterhouse nullified Winston Griffiths 34th minute equaliser, booting the Premiership champions out of the national knockout competition.
"Waterhouse have not won that cup from it has come into play so we are going to try our best to pull it off this year," Kenneth 'Bop' Campbell told The Gleaner after his team's triumph.
Phillips' exploits earned him kudos from his coach. Commenting on the St. Thomas-grown player, Campbell said the national Under-23 midfielder has an excellent work rate.
"He's a good finisher and one for the future," he pointed out.
Yesterday, the soggy outfield and persistent rain at Drewsland did not hamper Waterhouse in the execution of their duties. They played their usual fast-paced game, similar to the style employed by Portmore. They were rewarded early when the hardworking Phillips cannoned a ball into the roof of Shawn Sawyer's net.
CLINICAL FINISHING
Phillips' goal was icing for a good set-up by Uchechukwu Chinyere, under pressure from Adrian Mitchell, chested the ball for Phillips, who side-stepped Derrick Smith before finishing clinically past the advancing Sawyers.
Portmore did not allow that goal to detract them from the job at hand. Their captain Anthony Modeste formed a brigade in midfield with Kevin Deerr and Griffiths, showing they were not afraid to take the attack to the Waterhouse defence.
This paid dividend when Deerr was able to pierce Waterhouse's defence with a pass that found Griffiths. The latter left Baris Johnson for dead before hitting past Loxley Reid to pull level.
However, just when it seemed both sides were heading to the break locked at 1-1, Phillips again produced a beautiful goal, burying a diving header past Sawyers from a Irvino English's pass.
Substitute Kevin Lamey put the game beyond Portmore in the dying moments with a free kick that Shawn Sawyers did not even bother to move for. Modeste had brought down Desmond Breakenridge some 20 yards from goal, resulting in the kick. Meanwhile, Lenworth Hyde was not in the happiest of moods.
"Certainly, I am disappointed," he said. Hyde said poor officiating cost his team the game.
"It's as if the referee is afraid to make the calls, Hyde said. "He contended that his team "played better football than Waterhouse."
"Waterhouse was more aggressive than us and that was what caused the result," he said.
