TUCKER, St James — Former champions Montego Bay United (MBU) continued their fight against relegation from the Red Stripe Premier League after scoring a come-from-behind 2-1 win over title contenders Cavalier FC in their third-round game played at Wespow Park on Sunday.

A sublime bicycle kick goal from the veteran Dino Williams, after his penalty was saved, completed the comeback in the 63rd minute as MBU scored their first win over Cavalier FC in the last two seasons since the KSAFA team returned to the competition.

Nazime Matalie-Grant scored in first-half stoppage time to level the scores after Kaheem Parris had given Cavalier the lead after just three minutes, capitalising on a lazy play from goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett.

Despite the win, MBU are still in the relegation zone but inched past FC Reno into 11th place on 24 points with five games still to be played.

The result also saw MBU stay unbeaten since Brazilian Luciano Gama took over as the coach just under a month ago and while the team has shown overall improvements in their play, the coach said that wins and not style was the goal right now.

“In this situation that we are, we don’t tend to look for nice performances,” Gama told the Jamaica Observer. “Of course we prefer a game where we control everything, but the team was brave when we were down; they believed and at times in the first half we lost shape but we came back in the second half with a fighting spirit to overturn the score and that was good.”

Being in the drop zone and staring relegation in the face, Gama said they had “to take things one game at a time and these three points are very important, but we are going to start working again this week to correct some things and go into the next fight against Reno”.

At half-time with the scores tied at 1-1, Gama said the instructions to the players was for them “to be calm on the ball as in this game we had more space to play and opportunity to be creative with the ball on the ground”.

He said they were rushing the game in the first half. “We were nervous as we need the points and after we went behind early it is understandable that they panicked.”

The players nontheless are responding to his presence. “Now we have a kind of system that we play and they know where we have to be defensively when we don’t have the ball and they must improve, and they also know how to create opportunities when we have the ball.”

Rudolph Speid, head coach of Cavalier, said the loss to MBU could be a big blow in their quest to stay in the top two for the regular season as they fell to third, on goal difference to Waterhouse, who had a game in hand, both on 48 points, eight behind leaders and defending champions Portmore United.

Cavalier FC have won just once in their last four games and Speid said this loss was “a major setback as we wanted to win or place second in the league but we can’t control what others are doing and we would need to get a lot of help elsewhere if we are to top the table”.

He blamed a shortage of his top players from the game. “Three players are overseas and three injuries that hit us just before we came here and when you add those two together, it was always going to be difficult for us.”

He was full of praise for MBU’s Williams. “It’s one of those games where we made a mistake in time added in the first half and then what can you say about Dino? That bicycle kick would score on anyone in the world and he had the space but then he is such a quality goalscorer so that could happen anytime and you know you have to reserve a goal for Dino because of his quality even when he is overweight and not fully fit.”

Cavalier were gifted the lead when Barrett came off his line and made a half-hearted attempt to get a bouncing ball but missed and Parris latched on to it and lobbed it into the wide open goal.

Despite taking over the game and pushing Cavalier back into their own half, MBU had to wait until two minutes into time added at the end of the first half to get the equaliser.

Johann Weatherly, who started on the right wing but switched to the left midway the half, controlled a high ball just outside the 18 yards area, went to the touch line and crossed it into the middle where Matalie-Grant was allowed time to power the ball past goalkeeper Mark Bryan high into the roof of the goal.

MBU created a series of good scoring chances early in the second half but Williams, second half substitute Donovan Carey and Dwayne Ambusley all missed from close range.

A brilliant combination between Williams, Carey and another second half substitute Lesly St Fleur sent the fleet-footed Bahamian into the Cavalier penalty box where he was tripped and referee Kevin Morrison awarded a penalty.

Bryan did well to parry Williams’ well struck kick, but the Cavalier defence failed to clear the ball away and the former national striker appeared to roll back the years when he rose majestically while surrounded by Cavalier defenders and Bryan and his overhead kick found the back of the net.

Stung to be trailing after taking an early lead, Cavalier went in search of at least an equaliser, but Barrett, who had cost MBU the lead, atoned with three good saves late in the game, the best coming in the 65th minute when he blocked a point-blank shot from Parris.

Teams: Montego Bay United — Jacomeno Barrett, Renaldo Wellington, John Barrett, Eric Aquah, Orlando McBayne (Lesly St Fleur 52nd), Keneil Kirlew, Dwayne Ambusley, Nazime Matalie-Grant, Dino Williams (Sheldon McCoy 79th), Johann Weatherly, Jermaine Woozencroft (Donovan Carey 56th)

Subs not used: Richard Addo, Trevaughn Walker, Renardo Wellington, Giovanni Reid

Booked: John Barrett (42nd)

Cavalier FC — Nicholas Hamilton, Mark Bryan, Jermy Nelson, Jamar Purcell, Leonard Rankine, Kaheem Parris, Clifton Woodbine, Raheem Depass, Kimani Arbourne (Nicholas Nelson 87th), Jason Johnson (Chevone Marsh 56th), Nicolloyd Dinham (Ronaldo Webster 54th)

Subs not used: Kyle Ming, St Michael Edwards, Jeffrey Henry, Shaneil Thomas

Booked: Parris (17th)

Referee: Kevin Morrison

Assistant referees: Richard Washington, Kioney Denton

Fourth official: Doyen Tummings

Match commissary: Gregory Daley