THE teething period is over for Cavalier in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) and they appear ready to take up a consistent top-six position in their first season back in top-flight football after 17 years.

On Sunday, the promoted KSAFA side edged Boys’ Town, the End-of-Round champions, 1-0, and jumped three places to seventh on 16 points. They are just a point away from the fourth-placed team and 10 behind leaders Harbour View, on 26.

Head coach David Lalor, who guided Cavalier to victories in three of their last four games and five in 12 overall, said his team learnt a lot in the first round.

Said Lalor: “This is a good win and it’s three additional points… we need to move from where we are now. We should have been in the top six, but we made a lot of blunders and it cost us in the first round. We have learnt from our mistakes and are moving forward.”

Claudius Blackburn, with his fourth goals of the season, again netted the winner for Cavalier in the 44th minute, scrambling home from a corner kick that fell nicely into his path.

“It was a good game and the players did exceptionally well. They played true to form and stuck to the task and came out on top. Boys’ Town is a hard-running team and we did expect a hard game, but we just moved the ball around and got the better of them and ended up victorious,” said Lalor.

Meanwhile Boys’ Town, who started the day in second spot, slipped to third on 22 points — four adrift of leaders Harbour View and one behind second-placed Portmore, on 23 points.

The Red Brigade, fresh from their 2-0 win over Harbour View in the incentive final, looked flat throughout and never threatened the Cavalier defence.

Club president Carl Brown, sitting in for head coach Andrew Price, who is away on national duties with Jamaica’s Beach football team in the Bahamas, said his team never raised their game following the recent final.

Said Brown: “We came out very flat today. You watched them warmed up today and we were very fearful that we got this sort of performance that we got from them in the first half.

“(THey were) a totally different team in the second half, but we were a bit unlucky as the Cavalier’s goalkeeper kept very well and kept them in the game.”

He added: “It’s one of those things that you don’t have any answers for. A team is generally flat coming after a high against Harbour View and it is something that coaches are fearful of. It happens from time to time and we saw them here… for 45 minutes and they were just not the same Boys’ Town team that we were used to.”

Boys’ Town started with what appeared to be a defensive team, with defenders Carlos Wright, Wayne Ellis, Xavean Virgo, Hugh Evans and with two players in Robert Scarlett and Nicholas McMorris, better known for their defensive qualities, alongside Oneil Thompson.

The forward thrust was lead by Rafeik Thomas, Romeo Parkes and Marvin Stewart, with captain Michael Campbell out through injury. They never looked like the fluent, fast and attackingteam that is hard to contain.

Cavalier, with the likes of Blackburn, Troyland Williams, Norman Bailey, Girvon Brown, Rasheede Clarke, Kirk Fletcher and Andre Forbes, held their own with some slick, simple passing while creating few chances.

In the second half, Boys’ Town did enough for Cavalier goalkeeper Gariece McPherson to be the man of the match with some outstanding saves, once diving full stretch to save a header from Shane Edwards in the 76th that seemed a certain goal.

It was certainly one of the saves of the season and deservedly earned three crucial points for ‘Duncan’s Destroyers’.