LeVaughn Flynn, Staff Reporter

Portmore United's coach Desmond Smith (left) looks on during a match against Reno in the Coca-Cola National U-21 Football League at the Harbour View Mini Stadium on Friday. - LeVaughn Flynn

Portmore United coach Desmond Smith admitted that tactical errors were made this season which cost them a sixth straight title in the Coca-Cola National U-21 Football League.

Portmore dropped crucial points at the beginning of the second round while experimenting with untried players. Smith said he was under the impression there would be a third round in the competition as in previous years, which would have allowed him more time to tweak his squad.

"We made some mistakes in the second round. We took the risk of playing some players just to see how they cope under pressure as new players, and those points really came back to haunt us at the end of the season," said Smith whose team lost to Harbour View by three points.

Portmore ended on 46 points after beating Reno 2-0 on Friday at the Harbour View Mini Stadium in the final game of the season.

Second half substitute Eric Vernon gave the former champs the lead in the 67th minute, lobbing the ball over a rushing goalie, and 10 minutes later Ashton Bennett scored in similar fashion for his sixth goal of the season.

Portmore ended with a record of 14 wins, four draws and four losses.

Despite the penalty his team paid this time around, Smith said player rotation is a part of Portmore's philosophy.

"If we had the opportunity we would do it again because when you have players you have to have confidence in your players, so you have to take the risk and play them," said Smith.

"Our motto is 'Improving' and that's the only way you will know if a player is improving. You can't judge it by just training alone. You have to put him under the pressure to see how he copes."

Reno ended the competition in seventh with 10 wins, two draws and 10 losses.

Reno's technical director Wendell Downswell immediately began looking to next season after the match and said that some of the players would be promoted to the Premier League side. However, Reno must first remain in the Premiership. They are currently second to last with two games remaining.