Portmore on a roll

Portmore United's Ricardo Morris continues to take this season's Red Stripe Premier League by storm.

Yesterday, he netted his third goal in as many games to help Portmore come from behind to beat Waterhouse 2-1 at the Waterhouse Stadium.

The former champions are now five points clear atop the table with maximum nine points from three games.

The former national under-20 midfielder scored a brilliant equaliser on 35 minutes after Jermaine 'Tuffy' Anderson had headed the hosts in front after 26 minutes. The dynamic and tricky left-footer picked up the ball just inside the Waterhouse half and left his two markers on their heels, then beat a third defender at the top of the box before calmly slotting under goalkeeper Richard McCallum with the outside of the boot, while still under pressure from the tracking defenders. Substitute Maalique Foster scored the winning goal in the 79th minute.

The midfielder's pace, energy and delightful left foot posed constant problems for the Waterhouse defence, and McCallum had to pull off two outstanding saves to stop him from adding to his tally.

ready to prove

Portmore's assistant coach, Jeffrey Hewitt, said Morris saw limited playing time while at Montego Bay United last season, and he was determined to prove himself, and he believes the work the 23-year-old put in the off season is bearing fruit.

"Ricardo is a warrior, and he was really hellbent on proving his worth, so when he came back (from MoBay), he really worked hard during the preseason. He was very dedicated toward his preparation, and it showed today."

Anderson headed Waterhouse in front from a free kick, and they dominated play until Morris' solo effort brought Portmore back on even terms. Waterhouse had some great chances to restore their lead, the best of the lot came on 65 minutes, but Shaven-Sean Paul denied Nicholy Findlayson from the spot after DeAndre Brown was cut down inside the area.

Then 15 minutes from the end, Foster stole the show when he capitalised on a miskick by a defender and broke away to slot past McCallum for the winning goal.

In the meantime, Waterhouuse coach Calvert Fitzgerald says finishing continues to let them down.

"We should have put the game away from the first 30 minutes. We keep getting chance after chance and not finishing. That is the part of the team that let us down today, and we ended up paying for it," he commented.