Bernard blames poor defending

Harbour View Football Club will have it all to do if they are to secure a spot in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup after they were clipped 2-1 by Moca FC in the first leg of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup third-place play-off match at Sabina Park last night.

Moca scored all three goals on the night with Harbour View's opener coming from an own goal from Clifford Thomas in the 15th minute.

Moca equalised in the 43rd minute from Gustavo Ascona's header and they sealed the win in the 65th with another header, this time from Jose Francisco.

Harbour View's injury worries saw some of their regular starters having to come off the bench, and it was after those substitutions that the visitors got the winning goal.

For coach Ludlow Bernard, the team's defensive unit continues to falter despite a bright start.

"We started very well in terms of getting a goal and I thought we could have built on that, but the goal that we conceded in the first half was too simple," said Bernard.

Harbour View had few chances to challenge Moca custodian Odalis Baez, and the absence of talismanic striker Shaquel Bradford, who was missing through an accumulation of yellow cards, severely weakened the attack of the Stars of the East.

One bright spark came when Jashuan Anglin managed to rattle the crossbar in the 52nd minute with a thunderous right footer.

Harbour View now have a tough task on December 5 when they travel to the Dominican Republic to play the second leg at the Estadio Cibao but Bernard is confident that his charges can go overseas and get the job done.

"I am very optimistic about the upcoming tie. Mentally, we have to be prepared and we have to know how we are going to break down this team as they can be very pragmatic," Bernard said.