Howard Walker, Staff Reporter

Fairclough (left) and Young (right)

Two teams heading in the opposite directions produced a typical derby performance as Portmore United defeated Naggo Head 2-0 in a highly controversial Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL) game on Sunday at Ferdie Neita Sports Complex.

Goals by Onandi Lowe in the 66th minute and Eric Vernon in the 90th minute settled the clash between the Portmore teams.

But the margin of victory doesn't really depict the real battle that took place at the Ferdie Neita Park.

A Denton Shedden header appeared to have given Naggo Head the lead but Shedden was deemed to be in an offside position by referee Kevin Thomas.

FREE-KICK

Then as fate would have it, later referee Thomas signalled a free kick for Naggo Head then changed the decision in Portmore's favour. The quickly taken free-kick caught Naggo Head heading in the other direction certain it was their kick, and Lowe tapped home an easy goal. The game was then interrupted for approximately 10 minutes as the Naggo Head team protested.

Paul Young, coach of Portmore United, explained what transpired and defended the referee's decision.

"Their goal was offside by a mile. But what caused our goal was that the referee had pointed for a free-kick for them. We appealed the decision and he changed it for us. We took the kick quickly and 'Nandi' scored," said Young.

Portmore United, the 2005 champions, have closed the gap on leaders Harbour View to just six points as they completed a three-game winning streak. They remain in fourth position on 36 points, trailing Harbour View 43, Waterhouse 40 and Reno on 37 points.

An optimistic Young still harbours thoughts of catching the front runners, especially as his team is back to full strength.

"A valuable three points and there are 14 games left, so let us wait and see. Right now anybody can beat anybody on any given time," he added.

But while Portmore are heading for the top, Naggo Head look doomed to relegation - at the bottom of the table on three points from 19 games.

The newly-promoted team are still winless in the 12-team competition, conceding 40 goals while scoring only 12 times.

OPTIMISTIC

During the January transfer window, Naggo Head was the most active team securing the services of 15 new players. But that hasn't started to bear fruit. They are 12 points behind 11th-placed Wadadah and 15 behind Seba.

Naggo Head coach, Wayne Fairclough, who led Waterhouse to victory last season, will have to be at his brilliant best to keep Naggo Head in the top flight.

Nevertheless, he remains optimistic his new team can survive the drop with a little bit of luck.

"From I have life, I have hope and we are playing good. People might be saying we are throwing water on duck's back, but if we had a little luck, we would be in a better position," he said. "We are still hanging in there and hoping for the best. If you go to the Naggo Head games, the results are not a true reflection of how the games were played."

SCORES

Portmore United 2

Onandi Lowe 66th
Eric Vernon 90th

Naggo Head 0

Howard.Walker@gleanerjm.com