Humble Lion make Semi-final, Sporting Central relegated from Red Stripe Premier League

It was mixed fortunes for Clarendon's two Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) representatives as the preliminary round ended yesterday.

Humble Lion sealed a historic qualification to the semi-finals with a 5-0 win over Cavalier, while Sporting Central Academy's seven-year stint in the top flight came to an end after a 2-1 defeat to Tivoli Gardens.

Although their win was not necessary in the end, Humble Lion went into the game needing victory to keep Harbour View at bay. But Harbour View lost at Arnett.

Francois Swaby netted two goals, and Levaughn Williams, Wolry Wolfe and Ricardo Cousins added one each to see the Donovan Duckie-coached Humble Lion to a comfortable win and their first play-off berth since the club was promoted in the 2009-2010 season.

At the Edward Seaga Sports Complex, Sporting Central, who came into the game two points ahead of Reno, went down 2-1 on goals from Ranike Anderson (28th) and Keammar Daley (64th), as their stay in the league came to a close.

rebound

Despite the players and staff leaving the venue dejected, club president Ainsley Lowe expects the team to rebound.

"It's not a sad thing, but we are disappointed. We wanted to stay in the league, but we have no shame. The biggest burden is disappointing our fans. But we believe we can be back in a year. We have the organisation base and the talent, and we'll seek to have a strong squad in the parish competition," he said.

Arnett ended the preliminaries atop the standings with 69 points, followed by Waterhouse on 60, Montego Bay United and Humble Lion on 53 each.