Portmore thrive on counter-attack

WESTERN BUREAU:

After defeating Montego Bay United FC 3-1 in Monday night's Red Stripe Premier League fixture at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, Portmore United's head coach, Jeffrey Hewitt, believes his team's 3-1 victory proved they can adapt and still remain razor sharp.

Hewitt employed a counter-attacking style in the second half as MBU had them pinned inside their half for the majority of the second half of a thrilling match, to come away with a result that put them back atop the standings with only three regular season games left in the schedule.

"We knew how this Montego Bay team plays and we wanted to catch them on the break, which we did twice, as we can play counter-attacking football too, and we demonstrated that and got three goals for it," said Hewitt.

He said his core of players can play from the bench as well as from the start and whenever summoned they are ready to perform, which oftentimes ends in a good result for the team.

Hewitt's three second-half substitutes played key roles in Monday night's victory, but Hewitt said they remain focused on the upcoming games and the semi-finals.

Ricardo Morris fired Portmore into a fifth-minute lead, which they held way into the second half when substitute Mark Alves doubled the score in the 72nd minute. Tramaine Stewart made the game safe for Portmore when he scored in the 76th minute.

CRISP SCORING FORM

Owayne Gordon continued his crisp scoring form by netting in the 86th minute.

However, it was the only goal MBU would muster on a night when they dominated the ball-possession statistic.

Already assured a semi-final place, Portmore, according to Hewitt, went about embellishing their head-to-head record against MBU, posting a third win over their title-chasing rivals in emphatic style and now have eyes peeled on the bonus $1 million for the team ending the regular season with the most points.

Portmore lead the standings with 57 points, one clear of MBU, and followed by defending champions Arnett Gardens FC (54). UWI FC (42), Humble Lion FC (41) and Harbour View (39) are also in a keen battle for the final semi-final spot.

"We are taking it one step at a time. From this game, we will now concentrate on the next game and hope it gets us where we need to be at the end," Hewitt stated.