Adrian Frater, News Editor
DAVIS
WESTERN BUREAU:
FORMER CHAMPIONS Reno FC left Montego Bay with their unbeaten road record intact on Sunday night, this despite the disappointment of giving up a late equaliser in their 1-1 draw against Seba United in their Wray & Nephew National Premier League fixture at Jarrett Park.
The Reno team, which clearly had the better of play, took a first-half lead through the wily midfielder Fabian Blake and appeared to be coasting to victory.
However, substitute Wilfred Smith gave Seba United a share of the points with his 87th minute equalizer.
"There were some question-able happenings on the field and I think that prevented us from taking full points," said Reno's coach Bradley Stewart, who lost top defender Ricardo Brooks to a red card in the 73rd minute. "Nonetheless, we are happy we came away with a share of the points."
DISAPPOINTED
Seba United's coach Paul 'Tegat' Davis, whose team has only won twice in their nine games this season, was bitterly disappointed with the offensive play of his team, blaming a spate of missed chances for their failure to come away with a better result.
"It is goals that win matches and we are missing more than we are scoring," said a dejected Davis. "The players need to step up and start scoring some goals. The team is not playing badly we just need to start scoring consistently."
In the first half Reno had the better of the early exchanges but wasted two good scoring opportunities. In the second minute Ricardo Scott fumbled from six yards and five minutes later, Mario Harrison stabbed his shot inches wide of the goal, with the goalkeeper beaten.
Seba got their best chance of the half in the 12th minute when they struck the crossbar twice within seconds. Firstly, a savage volley from Kemar James struck the post flush and rebounded to Iton Scott, whose follow-up shot struck the underside of the bar but failed to cross the goal line.
With the tide flowing in Reno's favour, the Westmoreland team took the lead in the 19th minute. Blake won possession in an assault on the Seba goal and squeezed a neat shot between the near post and the advancing goalkeeper Alrick Henry.
STINGING ATTACK
Minutes into the second half Reno just missed doubling their lead following a stinging attack. Norman Wollery got away before Seba's goal but drifted into a difficult position. He subsequently fired straight at the goalkeeper.
Midway the half Reno suffered a setback when key defender Brooks, whose sharp tackling was the mainstay of their defence, was shown the red card by the referee following an infringement. His ejection turned the tide in Seba's favour as substitute Smith and the overlapping Venton Evans were soon making regular inroads into Reno's backline.
Seba came up with their much anticipated equaliser in the 86th minute when the wily Smith capitalized on a defensive blunder and dribbled two paces before driving a savage low shot past goalkeeper Kingsley James, making the final score 1-1.
Despite dropping a point, Reno remain in mid-table with 13 points while Seba, now on 8 points, dropped to 11th place in the 12 team standings.
