Listless Portmore fall to Cavalier
Published:Saturday | September 4, 2021 | 2:27 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer -
Portmore United, without former coach Ricardo Gardner on the sidelines and influence of midfielder Ricardo Morris, looked a shadow of themselves as they went down 1-0 to Cavalier in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) on Friday at the UWI-Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence.
The St Catherine-based team only arrived about half hour before the game scheduled for 1 p.m. due to traffic congestion caused by the noon lockdown of some business places ahead of this weekend's no-movement days.
As a result, the team did not undergo their full warm up routine, and started the game slowly, new coach Garnet Lawrence said.
"The bus came for us extra late. Apparently they didn't know that we had a game. So we didn't get to warm up, hence in the first half we let in a goal because of that.
"The second half we played with a bit more purpose and moved the ball a little better but the goal still didn't come," he said.
He also bemoaned the absence of Morris, who is with Jamaica's World Cup qualifying squad.
"He is our talisman but we had to try without him and we tried our very best," he continued.
With one round of games to go, Portmore are fifth in the standings with 13 points, the same as Tivoli and Dunbeholden, who both play today.
Victory for those two teams will push Portmore out of a play-off spot.
"It is still tentative, we are still in the mix. So we have to go out with purpose. I would love for us to start the first half of the Waterhouse match like how we started the second half today and see where we go from there.
"It is still in our hands. If we get over that game it will be a start, so as long as we continue to press on I am okay," he said.
Cavalier were better from the opening whistle and missed good chances to take the lead through Shaneil Thomas and Ronaldo Webster.
However, six minutes before the interval Webster picked up the ball on the left and cut inside his marker before slotting the ball past Kemar Foster in goal.
Portmore showed a lot more effort in the second half but failed to really trouble the Cavalier backline, led by the returning Jamoi Topey on his season debut.
After losing 3-2 to Mount Pleasant last weekend, Cavalier's assistant coach, David Laylor, said it was a must-win game for them.
"We are pleased with the three points. We needed it to get to the play-offs," he said.
Cavalier ended the day one point behind leaders Waterhouse and tied on 15 points with Mount Pleasant and Vere. However, they are second in the table on goal difference.