PORTMORE United finally secured their first win of the season over Humble Lion FC in the Red Stripe Premier League, with a 2-0 win at Effortville on Sunday.

First-half goals by Ryan Wellington and debutant Andre Lewis were enough for the defending champions to leave Clarendon with all three points.

Wellington got his first goal of the season when he headed Portmore in front with a mere four minutes on the clock before Lewis secured the win when he slotted home his first senior goal for the club four minutes before the half-time interval.

The win took Portmore up to 47 points and back to the top of the table ahead of the Monday night clash between Cavalier FC and UWI FC. A win for Cavalier by two goals or more will take them back to the top of the standings.

The few home fans at Effortville had barely settled into their seats before they saw their team fall behind on Sunday.

A beautifully delivered corner by schoolboy Emelio Rousseau was met powerfully by Wellington who ghosted into the box to hammer his header beyond another debutant, Jeadine White. The St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) student was pulling on the gloves for the first time for the hosts since his move from Cavalier in the transfer window.

Despite the early goal and lots of possession immediately after, the visitors failed to press home their advantage as White had very little to do immediately after conceding.

Corey Hylton then had two chances to bring his team back into the game. His first effort was sneaking into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal before custodian Shaven Paul pulled off a smart save to keep his team ahead.

On his second opportunity, Hylton appeared to be lacking in confidence and conviction after the ball fell kindly to him following a mistake in the Portmore defence. The striker had the time and space to drive into the box with Paul as his mercy, but he chose to shoot instead and his tame effort was easy for Paul to handle.

After having very little to do since conceding early, White was then called into action and produced a fantastic save to palm away a thunderbolt from Cleon Pryce.

Lewis then marked his debut with the simplest of finishes after he was played in by Rondee Smith. With the goal at his mercy and White stuck on his line, the former Portland Timbers player calmly slotted the ball into the side of the net for 2-0 lead.

Winger Roshane Sharpe then stung the palms of the STATHS captain when he broke down the right flank and fired off a low shot in first-half stoppage time.

The visitors barely had to move out of second gear in the second half as a listless performance from the hosts saw Portmore cruise to first win over the “Lion” in three attempts this term, after the two previous games ended in stalemates.

Renae Lloyd did however see his thumping effort tipped over the bar by Paul, while the lively substitute Lorenzo Lewin brought out two smart saves at the near post by the Portmore custodian.

Carlos Barrett should have put away a perfect ball from fellow substitute Hardley Barnes in the dying embers of the game and add gloss to his team’s win, but his hooked effort from eight yards went over the crossbar.

Portmore United head coach Shavar Thomas praised the efforts of his players who he claimed did exactly as he had asked of them before the start of the game.

“It was a workmanlike effort from the whole group. That’s what we asked for in the team talk, for them to come out first and foremost and put in a shift. Give us 110 per cent because we know we have enough quality and we possess enough football, so we can put this game to rest. I am very happy with the performance.

“The past couple of games we have not been scoring and we wanted to come here and put Humble Lion on the back foot and we did just that,” he said.

Humble Lion Coach Glendon “Admiral” Bailey blamed a flat start to the game for his team’s loss.

“I think we started out flat for the first half. In my view (we conceded) two soft goals, not paying attention to what we were supposed to be doing.

“But I thought we gave a better account of ourselves in the second half, we made a little adjustment so that we could run at them more,” he noted.

Teams:

Humble Lion – Jeadine White, Kevon Reid, Keniel Hyde, Hughan Gray, Linval Lewin, Hugh Howell, (Andrew Vazie 28th min) Corey Hylton, Michael Binns, (Ricardo Dennis 52nd) Renae Lloyd, Jermaine Christian, (Lorenzo Lewin 52nd) Gary McIntosh.

Subs not used:Damion Crooks, Afiba Chambers, Kirk Duckworth Romoy Parkins

Booked: Corey Hylton (24th), Andrew Vanzie (63rd), Linval Lewis (78th)

Portmore United – Shaven Paul, Ryan Wellington, Damian Williams, (Carlos Barrett 77th) Roshane Sharpe, (Earon Elliott 90th) Osani Ricketts, Cleon Pryce, Andre Lewis, Rosario Harriott, Rondee Smith, (Hardley Barnes 68th) Lamar Walker, Emelio Rousseau.

Subs not used: Benjamin Williams, Venton Evans, Damian Brunswick, Romaine Brackenridge

Booked: Roshane Sharpe (56th), Rosario Harriott (90th)

Referee: Andre Farquharson

Assistant Referees:Ojay Duhaney, Gavin Carvalho

Fourth Official: Andrewa Hayden

Match Commissioner: Patrick Malcolm