TUCKER, St James — Jourdaine Fletcher made a story- book start to his Red Stripe Premier League career, coming off the bench to score the winning goal for defending champions Montego Bay United (MBU) as they came from a goal down at half-time to beat 10-man Waterhouse FC 2-1 in their second-round game at Wespow Park on Sunday.

Fletcher, who led Cornwall College to the ISSA daCosta Cup title this year, scoring over 30 goals in the season, got the winner in the 69th minute after Dwayne Ambusley had brought MBU level in the 60th minute.

Deandre Brown had given Waterhouse the lead in the first half against a sluggish-looking MBU as the visitors played the final 24 minutes with 10 players, after Nicholy Findlayson was sent off in the 66th minute subsequent to collecting his second yellow card.

It was also a winning start for Dillon Thelwell, who was handed the team after the departure of the Serb, Slavisa Bozicic. Thelwell hardly put a foot wrong, pulling the strings from the sidelines.

“We wanted to make a positive start to the year, (but) the first half was not what we wanted (as) we never stuck to the game plan. But half-time we saw where we were going wrong, made adjustments and the players delivered,” Thelwell told the Jamaica Observer.

He was full of praise for Fletcher, who joined the team earlier in the week and came on at the start of the second half for an injured Dino Williams.

“We saw they put a marker on Fletcher when he came on, but we knew once he got a chance he would convert, and he did,” said the coach.

Despite the first loss in three games, Waterhouse coach Glendon “Admiral” Bailey said they were not panicking about their ability to survive the league just yet, but said his players dropped their intensity after half-time.

“We did not show up in the second half; we came out and played very indisciplined,” said Bailey, who only had four players on the bench due to a rash of injuries.

“We spoke about it at half-time as we saw it (indiscipline on the field) coming. we told then MBU is a touch team so you have to track the runner, and that was our downfall,” Bailey continued.

He said the second goal against them was due to inexperience of his players in not slowing the game down after they (Waterhouse) went down to 10 players.

“Going down to 10 players was a big setback (as) we were behind the eighth ball, playing against a quality team like MBU.”

Despite that, however, Bailey said they were still positive they would turn things around.

“We are still a work in progress. I saw things that we need to work on and once we get all our players back, we will improve,” he ended.

A decent-sized crowd was on hand to see the new signings on show for MBU, but they had little to cheer about in the first half despite dominating the possession and creating scoring chances.

MBU, who were led upfront by the returning Owayne Gordon and Williams, had little to show for their efforts.

Williams had three scoring chances in the first half before he limped off late. In one instance, he fired directly at goalkeeper Diego Haughton in the ninth minute, and in the others just glancing a shot wide in the 20th and then volleying high in the 43rd minute with the custodian at his mercy.

Brown gave Waterhouse the lead in the 40th minute when he finished off a good build-up by powering a left-footer past the diving Jacomeno Barrett in the MBU goal, against the run of play.

Gordon, who led the league with 20 goals last season, was unfortunate not to score in his first game of the season and came close in the 55th minute, but Haughton did well to save his effort, going to his right.

Ambusley brought MBU level in the 60th minute when he scored his second goal of the season, sent through with a pin-point pass, beating the defenders into the area and placing the ball into the lower left-hand corner of the goal.

Findlayson was sent off in the 66th minute and three minutes later Fletcher, who had two close calls earlier, announced himself with a splendid, left-footed volley after Jermaine Woozencroft had fought off two defenders to set up the goal.

With their tails up and the crowd urging them on, MBU could have increased the margin when Ronaldo Rodney failed to bury the ball in time added on, but Haughton made a spectacular save, coming off his line to block the shot on the edge of the six-yard box.

Teams:

Montego Bay United — Jacomeno Barrett, Kemar Drake, Fabion McCarthy, Orlando McBayne, Jermaine Woozencroft (Ronaldo Rodney 76th), Kevon Lambert, Donovan Carey, Allan Ottey (Johann Weatherly 85th), Dwayne Ambusley, Owayne Gordon, Dino Williams (Jourdaine Fletcher 46th).

Subs not used: David Swaby, John Barrett, Ramone Sibley, Kashief Brown

Booked: Carey (90+2)

Waterhouse — Diego Haughton, Shaquille Dyer, Dale Reid, Nicholy Findlayson, Kymani Campbell (Jeffrey Henry-73rd), Stephorn Brown (Marlon Laing-83rd), Irvino English, Romario Campbell, Deandre Brown, Jermaine Anderson, Andre McFarlane.

Subs not used: Leighton Murray, Carlos Wright

Booked: Findlayson (26th & 66th-ejected), Brown (46th), Reid (84th)

Referee: Oshane Nation

Assistants: Oyinco McTaggart, Jermaine Yee Singh

Fourth Official: Weston Costly

Match Commissary: Bruce Gaynor