Lion move up after blanking Village 3-0
BY OSHANE TOBIAS
Observer writer
MAY PEN, Clarendon — Humble Lion ensured they will end the year outside of the drop zone following a comfortable 3-0 defeat of Village United in yesterday’s Digicel Premier League clash at Effortville.
In another game played yesterday, Arnett Gardens rallied late to earn a 1-1
draw against hosts Tivoli Gardens at the Edward Seaga Sport Complex.
Roland Dean opened the scoring for Tivoli in the 39th minute, but Kirk Ramsay struck a ferocious 88th-minute equaliser to hand the visitors a share of the points.
At Effortville, the towering striker Omando McLeod tapped home in the 12th minute to send the hosts on their way, before Denzil Watson’s 48th-minute pile driver and Demar Lawrence’s side-footed effort completed a fine afternoon’s work for the Clarendon side.
The result means Humble Lion improved to 22 points and replaced Village (21), who were suffering a second straight defeat in Clarendon in four days, as the 10th-placed team.
But despite thinking that they have now turned the corner with their most comprehensive victory to date, assistant coach Max Straw said the work has just begun.
“One point above the relegation zone is not really out of it, so we still have to play as if we our backs are against the wall,” Straw said.
Humble Lion came into the game hunting a third straight win for the first time this season, and coach Lenworth Hyde Snr made two changes to the starting 11 that clipped Benfica four days earlier at Drax Hall.
Village, on the contrary, were trying to avoid a run of three successive defeats and being hauled back into the relegation zone by the same team, so fittingly, Brazilian coach Nedeir Dos Santos reshuffled the line-up, replacing Dino Williams with Allan Ottey.
However, not even the fleet-footed youngster could help the Villagers’ cause as the Lions seized the early initiative with a three-man attack of McLeod, Watson and Roberto Fletcher.
After a number of close shaves, the visitors went ahead when veteran goalie Elvis Hart spilled Peter Brown’s shot in the path of McLeod, who obliged with a simple tap-in.
Throughout the contest, Village looked a shadow of the team that lost in a seven-goal thriller against Sporting Central on Sunday, and it was no surprise when Watson collected a neat pass from left-back Kenny Lee, beat two defenders and fired in at the far post.
It was 3-0 and game over shortly thereafter as Watson supplied Lawrence with a perfectly weighted right-sided cross, and the pint-sized youngster kept his cool to side-foot home.
