TUCKER, St James — Montego Bay United (MBU) left it late on Sunday, scoring twice in the dying moments of their Red Stripe Premier League first-round game at WesPow Park to earn a 2-2 draw against Harbour View.

Playing in terrible water-logged underfoot conditions after heavy rains dumped inches of water on the newly re-laid field and in near darkness, central defender Cordel Simpson pulled one back for MBU on the stroke of full time before Owayne Gordon scored with the final kick of the game, four minutes into time added on by referee Raymond Bogle as the home team came back from giving up the lead in three consecutive games.

Jorginho James gave Harbour View the lead in the 30th minute and Kevaughn Frater appeared to have secured the full points when he scored in the 79th minute, but the MBU players refused to roll over, and clawed their way back for a point and a result that coach Timothy Hankinson said they “would remember for a long time”.

With the point, MBU inched up to 14 points, same as Portmore United who also drew 0-0 with Humble Lion at the top of the 12-team league, while Harbour View stayed in ninth place on seven points.

A relieved Hankinson told the Jamaica Observer afterwards, “Certainly this is one that the players won; they showed something at the end, a belief in miracles and they pulled it out.”

Gordon had scored late against Humble Lion to earn a 1-1 draw two rounds ago and last week, Dino Williams scored twice to come from behind and beat FC Reno at Frome and Hankinson wondered how long they could continue this trend. “The fact is this is the third game now that we have given up the early goal, and not even great goals, there is only so many times you can dig yourself out of these holes, but tonight that final goal was miraculous and something we will always remember.”

Ludlow Bernard, the Harbour View coach, was left shaking his head as they had two precious points taken away from them at the last possible moment, not long after they were celebrating what they thought was their second win of the season.

“This is very disappointing,” he told the Observer. “It’s the luck of the draw because of the condition of the pitch and MoBay United fought hard for it.”

Most of the first 50 minutes of the game was played in torrential downpours that left puddles of water on the field and made the free movement of the ball difficult.

The game which started at 4:00 pm ended in near darkness.

James sent Harbour View into the lead when he headed the ball past goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett from a corner.

The home team missed two good chances to score early in the second half, Williams the competition’s top scorer missing both times, shooting wide in the 59th minute then hitting the outside of the left upright in the 64th minute from two yards out.

The Harbour View bench was celebrating even more when they caught the MBU team on the counter and Frater ran away from the lone defender and with Barrett coming way out of his area, the striker easily got around him and fired into the unprotected goal.

Simpson was well placed at the left post and poked home a ball to cut the deficit and ignited the comeback.

MBU were awarded a free kick deep into added time, and with goal keeper Barrett in the Harbour View penalty area, Gordon collected the ball on the right side, drove into the box and cannoned it off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal.

Teams: MBU — Jacomeno Barrett, Dino Williams, Jermaine Woozencroft (Allan Ottey 28th), Owayne Gordon, Donovan Carey, Keniel Kirlew, Dwayne Ambusley, Dwayne Holmes (Kashief Brown 55th), Cordel Simpson, Kemar Drake, Orlando McBayne (Ronaldo Rodney 68th)

Subs not used: Romaine Bowers, Winston Wilkinson, John Barrett, Romario Clarke

Booked: Simpson (14th), Williams (27th), Holmes (49th)

Harbour View — Devon Haughton, Hugh Evans, Rosario Harriott, Nicholas Beckett, Mark Miller, Jorginho James, Andrew Allen, Keammar Daley, John-Ross Edwards, Claudius Blackburn (Allando Matherson 85th), Kevaughn Frater

Subs not used: Mark Bryan, Odane Samuels, Dejanni Samuels, Ranique Muir, Bryan English, Khachief Mills

Booked: Evans- (74th)

Referee: Raymond Bogle

Assistant Referees: Lloyd Edwards, Ojay Duhaney

Fourth Official: Veralton Nembhard

Match Commissary: Fitzroy Reid

Harbour View’s Andrew Allen (centre) tries to get away from two MBU players Keniel Kirlew (left) and Kemar Drake in Sunday’s RSPL game at WesPow Park. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

(PHOTO: PAUL REID)