The Jamaica Star :: Sport :: Portmore put the icing on the cake

Ainsley Walters, Freelance Writer

Defender Anthony Modeste (left) and goalkeeper Shawn Sawyers bring out a cake to celebrate winning the National Premier League title. - ian allen

PORTMORE UNITED last night dotted the i's and crossed the t's with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Waterhouse to officially lift the 2007-2008 Premier League title with two games to spare.

Thunderous shots from outside the box in the 22nd and 61st minutes from Bryan Bayliss and Ricardo Cousins, respectively, left the league's leading striker, Roen Nelson, with the job of putting the icing on the cake in the 90th minute, dispossessing a defender inside the area before booting past goalie Maurice Evans.

Portmore started the afternoon nine points clear of second-place Tivoli, needing only a draw from their three remaining games to clinch a second title at Ferdie Neita Park, after winning their first two Premier League championships as Hazard, playing out of Clarendon.

Playing with zest

However, playing with the zest they have shown all season, the champions outclassed Water-house to claim full points.

The final whistle sparked wild celebrations among players and the once-hesitant Portmore fans, who took more than two seasons to warm to the team, which moved base from Clarendon to St Catherine after winning their second title in 2003.

Coach Linval Dixon credited his team's title win to discipline and consistency.

"Our discipline was on a high and we stuck together as a team," he said.

"We set out to win the league from the go and we were always there or on top. We had some bad spots, losing the lead to Tivoli by six points but we won it back and stuck with it," Dixon added.

Victory moved Portmore to 71 points, still nine clear of Tivoli, who maintained their hopeless chase with a 2-0 whipping of outgoing champions Harbour View at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex.

Boys' Town stayed third among the championship group, held to a 2-2 draw by persistent sixth-place team, Sporting Central, who twice rallied from a goal down at their Brancourt home base in Clarendon.

Harbour View remained fourth on 49 points, two clear of Waterhouse with Sporting Central sixth on 44.

August Town's woes

Meanwhile, August Town's relegation woes deepened in the drop zone as the last-place team played to a 1-1 draw at St Georges to move to 35 points, two behind fellow relegation candidates, Reno, whose home game against Seba was not played after the visitors failed to show at St Elizabeth Technical High School, claiming transportation problems.

Reno are on 37 points, three behind Arnett Gardens and St Georges locked on 40, awaiting what should be an interesting decision by the Jamaica Football Federation.

Should Seba, who are on 41 points, be found negligent in not having sufficient transportation back-up, their friends from the west, Reno, could demand full points, which would take them to 40, creating a three-way tie with St Georges and Arnett Gardens, who drew 0-0 with Village at the Elliston Wakeland Centre yesterday.

Results

Portmore United 3 (Bryan Bayliss - 22nd, Ricardo Cousins - 61st, Roen Nelson - 90th) / Waterhouse 0

Tivoli Gardens 2 (Jermaine Allen - 30th, Jermaine Taylor - 42nd) / Harbour View 0

Sporting Central 2 (Hughan Gray -26th, Damali Samuels - 84th) / Boys' Town 2 (own-goal - 4th, Garfield Gillespie - 38th)

Village United 0 /Arnett Gardens 0

Reno // Seba United (failed to show)

St Georges 1 (Richardo Watson - 90th) / August Town 1 (Jermaine Simpson - 21st)

Portmore United's Eric Vernon, Damion Williams and Steven Morrisey celebrate after winning the National Premier League title last night, following a 3-0 win over Waterhouse at Ferdie Neita Park. - ian allen

Championship Teams

Teams P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Portmore 36 20 11 5 53 23 30 71
Tivoli 36 19 5 12 45 37 8 62
Boys' Town 36 13 15 8 34 30 4 54
Harbour View 36 11 16 10 41 36 5 49
Waterhouse 36 10 17 9 39 41 -2 47
Sporting Central 36 10 14 12 41 48 -7 44

Relegation Group

Teams P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Village United 36 11 13 12 36 34 0 46
Seba United 35 10 11 14 42 47 -5 41
Arnett Gardens 36 7 19 10 31 32 -1 40
St. Georges 36 10 10 16 38 42 -4 40
Reno FC 35 7 16 12 36 48 -12 37
August Town 36 8 11 17 35 53 -18 35