Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
HARBOUR VIEW yesterday maintained their third place in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League with a 2-1 win over Village United.
The win pushed them to 53 points, the same as Waterhouse but with an inferior goal difference they stay in fourth.
Midfielder Sean Fraser and substitute defender Christopher Harvey scored for Harbour View in the 39th and 88th minutes respectively while Leon Irving replied for Village in the 67th minute.
Harbour View's win would have brought some level of satisfaction to coach Donovan Hayles who was ejected in the second half for interfering with referee Orville Sandcroft.
Village's coach, Dean Weatherly, would have been encouraged by the spirit and fight of his youngsters but also would have been disappointed that they were not able to come away with a point.
The game was a competitive one which saw Harbour View leading the way with Village staying close behind. Harbour View had the better chances to score while Village looked good in midfield but lacked numbers in attack as their lone forward, Omar Allen, was largely left on his own.
If a bet was to be taken of which team would score first Harbour View would have been selected but the manner in which they scored and when it happened was not expected.
FAILED TO HOLD ON TO A FREE KICK
The normally solid Allien Whittaker in goal for Village was to blame as he failed to hold on to a free kick from Craig Stewart. This allowed Fraser, who only moments before had to leave the field for treatment, to run on and poke the rebound home.
Village missed an excellent opportunity to equalise in the 58th minute when Nigel Ellis was provided with a free header by a Gregory Simpson corner but he closed his eyes and failed to connect.
Village brought themselves back in the game in the 67th minute when the skilful and confident Irving blasted a rebound from a corner into the roof of the net. The goal seemed to be just what they deserved as a Simpson header appeared to have struck the arm of a defender.
With about two minutes of regulation time plus three minutes of additional time to play, Whittaker again made an error. He left his line to collect a corner and missed. This provided the opportunity for the ever cool Harvey to head home.
"It was not a classic at all but it is important that we showed grit and managed to score the two goals to give us the three points that we needed," said Hayles at the end of the game. He had special praise for his players "who stuck to the task".
Village's Weatherly felt that his team was unfortunate to concede the goals in the way they came.
"Goalkeeping is normally our strong point but these things happen in football," Weatherly said.
