Harbour View coach Donovan Hayles has lauded his young outfit after his team defeated red-hot Waterhouse 1-0 in Sunday’s Digicel Premier League (DPL) second end-of-round final at the National Stadium.

“I’m very, very proud of the Harbour View youngsters. They came and they showed that they have quality,” said an elated Hayles at game’s end.

“I said to them before the game started that today they are premier league players, they are not Under-21 players, and they proved that today.”

The DPL leaders took an early lead on 13 minutes when Andre Steele’s right-sided cross was volleyed home by Lovel Palmer from inside the box, which came against the run of play, as Waterhouse dominated the exchanges for the most part of the first half.

With just pride and prize money up for grabs, both sides altered their regular starting 11, opting instead for a few of their Under-21 players. However, Harbour View deservedly prevailed with top cash-prize of $250,000, as their counter-attacking display went according to plan.

“The win is good, but we can’t get overwhelmed by this. It shows that we have depth. The discipline was what I was really pleased with. They played a disciplined game, kept the shape, stayed behind the ball… and played behind the counter,” Hayles said, adding that they would have restored some level of psychological parity after losing twice before Sunday’s game to the Geoffrey Maxwell-coached Waterhouse.

The third round begins January 24 with Harbour View hosting Sporting Central and Hayles is expecting a tough challenge from the visitors.

He said: “It’s going to be interested. We have to forget this one quickly. It’s going to be a short-lived celebration. The third round is not going to be easy… more teams are getting more compact in their football. I think in the second round no team won by more than two goals. Every team is coming and showing their worth… and this is our premier league just like the one in England.”

— Andrew Hancel