Harbour View stop Dunbeholden 2-0

Humble Lion, the best defensive team in the league this season, could not keep out the defending champions Harbour View and now face a tough climb in their first playoff appearance in years.

An Odorland Harding strike in the 23rd minute and a Ryan Wellington header in the 77th gave Harbour View a 2-0 win in their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) quarter-final first-leg encounter last night at Sabina Park.

A feisty affair resulted in the defending champions taking a healthy advantage going into the second leg and Humble Lion kicking themselves as to their inefficiencies in front of the goal.

Humble Lion's Afari Chambers and Harbour View's Demar Rose were ejected in the 64th minute forcing both teams to play with 10 men.

After a difficult 2-2 draw with Portmore United in their Lynk Cup semi-final first leg, Harbour View head coach Ludlow Bernard said they had to ride the wave of Humble Lion's pressure after taking the lead.

"The emphasis was game management even from whistle one. We started brightly, but we conceded midfield (after the goal), and Humble Lion came forward with numbers. I don't think we responded well to it, and the players needed to make some adjustments. The half-time break came timely, and then we got ourselves organised," Bernard said.

Humble Lion were not without chances in the first half, but their execution in the final third let them down, which head coach Andrew Price said cost them.

"The score doesn't reflect the balance of play. I think we played well enough, that we could have gotten something from the game. We got several opportunities in front of goal, but we didn't pull the trigger for whatever reason, and then we lost our concentration with the two opportunities that Harbour View had," Price said.

Bernard is far from comfortable even with a two-goal lead given the demands they will be asked, as they will have little turnaround time before Friday's Lynk Cup semi-final second leg, as well as Monday's return quarter-final leg. Bernard said they are ready for the hard road to another title run.

"The team is up for it, in terms of ensuring that this scoreline is not overturned," Bernard said.

Meanwhile, Dunbeholden were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Mount Pleasant in the first game of the doubleheader.

Stephen Barnett opened the scoring in the 53rd minute before Leonardo Ranking got the equaliser in the 97th, leaving the tie in the balance.

It is the second time in two weeks that Dunbeholden are facing Mount Pleasant after beating them in the regular season finale to grab the final spot in the playoffs.