BOTH coaches admitted it was a challenging encounter as former champions Portmore United and Humble Lion played to a 0-0 draw in their final Digicel Premier League game of the season at the Ferdie Neita Park on Sunday.

“It was a tough game for us,” said Neville Bell, in his final match as coach of Portmore United.

“I knew it would have been tough before the start of the game because I knew we were in seventh and no one could catch us, so it would have been difficult for the players to pretend we needed the three points,” he added.

The game was the 10th unbeaten for the St Catherine-based outfit, a record which Bell was proud of.

Now that his tenure with Portmore has ended, Bell will now return to coaching Manning Cup champions St George’s College.

Meanwhile, Humble Lion’s assistant coach Paul Wilson said both teams got chances to score, but missed, which was testament to the competitiveness of the match.

“Both teams were passing the ball around (and) either team could have won,” Wilson said.

Humble Lion, who were close to being demoted, managed a late rally to keep their spot after finishing eighth on 43 points, while Portmore ended one place above them on 47.

Teams:

Portmore United — Duwayne Kerr, Anthony Modeste, Rickardo Harriot, Bryan Bayliss (Carlinton Smith 65th), Ryan Powell, Roen Nelson, Mario Harrison (Ricardo Cousins 58th), Steven Morrissey, Mario Swaby, Shantel Mundle, Craig Gayle (Andrew Vanzie 69th).

Subs not used: T Stewart, T Smith, R Allen, G McPherson.

Booked: Mundle (9th), Morrissey (31st).

Humble Lion — Shawn Sawyers, Kimroy Davis (Narado Brown 71st), Damion Barrett, Tyrone Lampart (Phillip Fearon 46th), Jeffrey Baker, Omando McLeod, Kevin Mighty, Ricardo Campbell, Kirk Duckworth, Zico Herrera, Omar Walters (Rohan Williams 82nd).

Subs not used: R Fletcher, D Crooks, D Sterling, L Thomas.

Booked: Barrett (41st)

Referee: Courtney Campbell

Assistant Referees: Ricardo Williams, Oyinco McTaggart

Fourth Official: Cavell Banton

Match Commissary: Garfield McDonald