By Howard Walker, Staff Reporter

HARBOUR VIEW warmed up for their clash with DC United tomorrow with a comprehensive 4-1 thrashing of Reno FC in their Wray and Nephew National Premier League game at Compound on Sunday night.

Twenty-year old Lovell Palmer was the real 'Star of the East', as his team is called, scoring in the 61st and 90th minutes as Harbour View ran away with the contest and left the cash-strapped Reno in tatters.

Jomo Gordon opened the floodgates on the stroke of half-time, while the prolific Luton Shelton added his name to the scoresheet with a flashing header in the 59th minute.

Harbour View, the Caribbean Club champions, laboured for 45 minutes before finding the back of the net in a performance in which coach, Donovan Hayles, thought his team wasn't 100 per cent motivated.

"We were not 100 per cent there. The energy wasn't there today," he noted.

"I was disappointed with the decision-making in the first half. We were making bad decisions with our choice of passes.

"In the second half we got things together and made better decisions, maintained possession more, worked the flanks well and hence we came out comfortable 4-1 winners," said Hayles.

With the big clash on Wednesday looming, Hayles said he saw some aspects of what Harbour View need to do.

"We were trying to work the flanks and I was very pleased with our left-sided play. Now I want to get the right side working."

While Harbour View were warming to the task of knocking out their American opponents in the region's top club competition, Reno are just trying to stay alive in the premier league.

"Financially we are embarrassed. We need people to jump on board but we have to win games because Jamaicans love winners. If we are not winning we won't get the support that we need," said Carl Palmer, coach of the Westmoreland team.

VERY YOUNG TEAM

"Our aim is to keep ourselves in this competition. We have a very, very young team and we don't want to pressure them. We have to try to motivate them to come back again," said Palmer.

According to Palmer, his team gave up a soft goal in the first half and they should have equalised after getting a couple of chances.

"The second half we came out more purposeful and I think we should have equalised the game. We got two chances but we didn't put them away and it cost us."

Harbour View moved to 12 second round points, 10 behind leaders Portmore United while Reno remained on eight, just above Arlington and Invaders in the relegation battle.