Brown stunner tames Lion

A stunning left-footer from Patrick Brown in the 55th minute of play made the difference between home team UWI FC and Humble Lion yesterday in the Red Stripe Premier League, as the Andrew Peart-coached team followed up Thursday's defeat of Arnett Gardens with a 1-0 win.

UWI had slumped to six defeats in a row before their last two wins and came into the round yesterday in eighth position with 20 points, just behind Humble Lion, who were seventh, also on 20 points. The Pelicans jumped into sixth position with their win and are now on 23 points.

Peart said his team's win was the result of a desire to fight.

"We managed to get the goal at a crucial time, and it was important also to get a clean sheet on the day," he said. "That is important if we want to win games, and I must commend the guys for their effort. We cant undo the six games we did not win, but we can build on these wins and use them as motivation and continue to find other games we can win.

"That goal by Brown really gave us the momentum. Humble Lion is a team which normally capitalises on its chances early in the game, so we figured the more we run with them, the better for us."

After seeing his team fall in the table with their defeat, Humble Lion assistant coach Lijyasu Simms was disappointed after the match.

NOT THEMSELVES

"Humble Lion were not themselves as they were not playing their usual style of football," he said. "The performance was a bit lacklustre. We tried several combinations today, but [they] did not bear fruit, and we will just have to go back to the training ground and work them out to solve these problems. We saw where we went wrong, and it was really a disappointing result, but definitely, we will be back as we have time."

The game itself lacked any drive in the first half as both teams seemed to be sitting back. Chances were few, with the visitors coming close to scoring on two occasions but Seigel Knight failed to find the target on both occasions, as his shots went wide of the goal. The home team, which only got one shot on goal during the half, came close to scoring as in added time, Fabion McCarthy's 40-yard free kick forced goalkeeper Keneil Petrie to push behind the goal for a corner kick as the half ended goalless.

It was a very positive UWI that came into the game in the second half as captain Rochane Smith, McCarthy, Brown, and the hard-working Andrae Bernal took control early. With the half 10 minutes old, they went ahead. A blunder midway their half on the left side by Humble Lion saw Brown controlling the ball, dribbling to the edge of the area and rifling a left-footer that gave Petrie no chance as the ball lodged in the back of the net.

In a last-ditch effort, in the dying minutes, veteran Craig Foster came on for Romeo Wright, but this could not help the visitors as UWI defended well to claim victory.

Yesterday's RSPL results:

- Mount Pleasant 1-1 Tivoli Gardens

- UWI 1-0 Humble Lion

- Cavalier 1-1 Dunbeholden

- Waterhouse 1-1 Portmore United

- Arnett Gardens 1-1 FC Reno