Harbour View coach Bjorn Thomas said he is under no immediate pressure from the club hierarchy after the team suffered their second consecutive defeat and are yet to get a win in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) this season.
Harbour View fell 5-2 to Arnett Gardens at the Drewsland mini stadium, to sit on one point from three matches, but Thomas is confident of turning things around and has called for patience.
“No (there is no pressure from hierarchy). Not that I know of,” he said after the game. “Before the season started, we knew we were going to start with a young team and that it was going to take time.
“It’s a youthful team, but a lot of them have played the league before, even though they are young. So we have to get it together. I started late in the preseason, but I have no doubt we will put it all together,” he said.
He noted that it’s a very long season and he is looking for the team to show marked improvements before the end of the first round.
“It is a marathon and not a sprint. It is not good to start the season this way, but I have no doubt we will fix things. We just have to get it right,” he added.
After a scoreless draw in their first match, Harbour View have conceded seven in the last two, and Thomas pointed out that the defence also needs solidifying.
“I don’t think the margin of the defeat told the whole story. The performance wasn’t that bad, but we just conceded at the wrong times in the game.
“We made some (defensive) errors. I don’t know what happened. We just have to look at the videos and see how we can fix things going forward. We started the second half strong and conceded a very soft goal and after that the lads dropped their heads, and that is where we went wrong.”
After a bright start by both teams, Arnett gained the ascendancy and Roderick Granville came close, but his shot inside the near post from 12 yards was parried by goalkeeper Naje Graham.
Arnett took the lead in the 37th minute when Ruahike Kelson stole possession, as Harbour View tried to play out of defence, and slotted past Graham.
However, Harbour View did not wait long for the equaliser, as five minutes later Treyvonne Reid was fouled on the edge of the box, and he delivered a precise ball from the deadball for Omar Thompson to head past a stranded Anthony Bennett to make it 1-1.
Arnett regained the lead four minutes after the break when Fabian Reid slammed home from close range after a persistent attack.
However, Harbour View responded immediately, with Reid setting up Brown, who slotted past Bennett to make it 2-2.
Tyrique Jones put Arnett back in front when he found acres of space on top of the box and drilled a low shot into the far corner in the 61st minute.
Reid made it 4-2 in the 76th minute, tapping home from two yards, and Shepherd added a fifth in time added, drilling a shot into the corner from the edge of the area.
“This was a game we needed to win,” said Arnett Gardens coach Philip Williams, after his first win. “We wanted it more than them today. I think we created a lot of chances, and in the second half we put away those chances.”
Yesterday’s results
Chapelton 3-2 Portmore
Dunbeholden 1-2 Montego Bay 2
Harbour View 2 Arnett Gardens 5
Treasure Beach 2 Molynes 2
Racing vs Mount Pleasant postponed.
Today’s games
5 p.m: Tivoli vs Spanish Town Police
7:30 p.M Cavalier vs Waterhouse
