LEADING marksman Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson struck in the 78th minute to gift Waterhouse a hard-fought 1-0 win against strugglers Highgate United in a Red Stripe Premier League match at Drewsland on Sunday.

Anderson’s ninth goal this season was good enough to give a modicum of relief to coach Donovan Duckie.

“We didn’t play as well as we can, but it was a very good win for team spirit,” he said following a below-par performance in the first half.

Mired at the bottom of the standings, Highgate seemed to lack both courage and finishing skills after often probing outside the box.

The two chances they got were spurned first by Christopher Harris, who shot wide in the 30th minute after having a clear sight on goal from the six-yards, then by Kevin Williams in the 37th, whose header narrowly missed its mark.

With Waterhouse failing to test former goalkeeper Ralston Robinson, the teams went to the break goalless.

Highgate continued to soldier on until Anderson got assistance with his striking duties from Gary McIntosh, who joined the mix for Peter Keyes who earlier was a standout with Anderson and Andrae Campbell.

Six minutes after coming on, McIntosh missed what appeared to be the simplest of chances in the 62nd. However, he later made amends with a deft cross that provided Anderson with his important strike 12 minutes from time to secure the points for Waterhouse and become joint leader in the league, along with Mauricio Gordon of MoBay United and Dino Williams of Village.