MBU hold Portmore to 1-1

WESTERN BUREAU:

A resilient Montego Bay United (MBU) came from behind to snatch a point in a 1-1 draw with Portmore United at Wespow Park in Montego Bay and extended the winless run of the visitors to six matches in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) yesterday.

Alex Marshall gave Portmore the lead with a delightful goal in the 24th minute after he was allowed space and time to turn and hit a pass he picked up outside the box to the right of the penalty arc.

MBU settled into the game after the goal but went into the half-time break trailing.

MBU responded immediately after the interval with Johann Weatherly, with only four minutes gone, hitting a short corner pass on to the underside of the crossbar beating the goalkeeper Benjamin Williams at his near post.

MBU was gifted the opportunity to take the lead in the 69th minute, but Courtney Allen on the back post made a meal after a defensive error from a low cross, after being in a position where it was harder to miss than to score.

Coach of Portmore United, Phillip Williams, believes they dropped two points after a second-half performance that left a lot to be desired.

"It's a point, yes, but we are at the stage of the season where a win is the only positive result. Today I think we gave up two points with that second-half performance," Williams said.

"We had a horrible second half. The way the goal was scored on us has a lot to do with the mental aspect of how the second half went. We expected our experienced goalkeeper to do much better at the near post."

Donavon Duckie, coach of MBU, said while he is disappointed that they did not take their chance to get all three points at home, starting the second round with a point on the board is also a positive.

"It was a good performance, so even though we want to win at home, we have to remember that we have lost here as well. We had to chase the game, so it was a good point," Duckie said.

"Our inexperience showed a lot, especially in the defensive phases. We were too tentative in the early part of the game and this came from us not talking for the first 25 minutes. Hence, we allowed Portmore to control the game, however, we played a better second half that paid dividend for us with a point even though we could have won," he added.

The result leaves Portmore United, who are now six games without a win, in seventh position with 18 points, just one more than MBU, who are still struggling to reignite the form they started the season with, as they have just one win from the last 11 games.

In the early kick-off at the same venue, cellar dwellers Faulkland put in a gritty performance to hold table-toppers Mount Pleasant Football Academy to a 0-0 draw.