Cavalier 1 (5)

Topey (17th)

Waterhouse 1 (4)

Binns (90+7pk)

THE wait is finally over.

After 40 years of agony and failed attempts, Cavalier Football Club are back in the winners’ enclosure, as they got by 10-man Waterhouse Football Club 5-4 on sudden death penalties after playing out a 1-1 stalemate in full and extra time.

Central defender Jamoi Topey gave Cavalier a 17th-minute lead that lasted until the 90th+8 minute when Damion Binns converted from the penalty spot to give Waterhouse hope in an enthralling, Digicel-powered Jamaica Premier League (JPL) final yesterday at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence yesterday.

Waterhouse lost Captain Nicholy Finlayson in the 18th minute after he was shown a red card by Referee Oshane Nation for dissent. Finlayson was initially shown a yellow card for his challenge on Ronaldo Webster.

The fact that they made it more difficult than it should have been would matter very little to Rudolph Speid and his youthful bunch at this point in time, as they are the second Cavalier team to win a league title, following the path of the triumphant 1981 unit.

Richard King, Topey, St Lucian Melvin Doxilly, Marlando Maxwell and Jamar Purcell, who buried the winning kick, were Cavalier’s successful kickers, while Jeovanni Laing had his shot saved.

Meanwhile, Binns and Kymani Campbell were both denied by Jeadine White in goal for Cavalier as Shaquille Bradford, Shevon Stewart, Andre Leslie and Ricardo Thomas converted from the 12-yard spot.

It was third time unlucky for Waterhouse as they lost the last two finals to Portmore United in 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.

Both teams were lively out the blocks and fired a few warning shots to signal their intentions.

The first real opportunity of the game fell to Cavalier in the 11th minute when Gadial Irving’s cross fell dangerously in the six-yard box and was almost turned in by a Waterhouse defender. It took a reflex save from Zemioy Nash in goal for Waterhouse to keep it out.

Cavalier continued their probe for the go-ahead goal and it eventually came when Topey, the tallest player on the field, used his height to good advantage by deflecting Irving’s weighted corner kick past a hapless Nash.

Things looked even brighter for Cavalier as, along with the goal advantage, they found themselves a man up when Finlayson was given his marching orders.

They sought to make the advantage count, particularly in the latter stages, but to no avail.

On the brink of the half-time break Webster played a wicked through pass in behind defenders to Shaniel Thomas, but the former Jamaica College striker went for power instead of placement in the skied effort, as the score remained 1-0 at the break.

Cavalier seemed set to maintain their strong tempo, launching an attack immediately on the resumption which resulted in a corner kick before Referee Nation instructed the players off the field as a precautionary measure due to a downpour.

When play resumed it was as if Cavalier had not missed a beat as they camped out in Waterhouse’s quarters with three consecutive corner kicks, but their opponents were resolute in defence.

Though playing a man short, Waterhouse continued to show fight and life in the attacking third approaching the hour mark, but found Cavalier giving very little away at that point.

In fact, Waterhouse dominated that period of play as Cavalier seemed content defending, and would later pay for that decision.

With Cavalier sitting back, Waterhouse capitalised on the space given and applied consistent pressure in the latter stages of the contest.

In the 87th substitute Stewart released another substitute, Colorado Murray, on goal but a timely intervention by a recovering defender averted the danger.

And it took a big save from White to keep out a stinging right-footed effort from Murray a few minutes later.

Given the nature of the game and the marauding intent of Waterhouse in time added, one could almost sense that extra time beckoned, and so it did.

In the 90th+5 minute Murray glanced Stewart’s floated pass toward goal but White again came up big, tipping over the crossbar.

However, the resulting corner kick by Ricardo Thomas picked out an unmarked Stewart at the top of the 18-yard box and the former St George’s College standout released a right-footed effort that was handled inside the red zone by Kamoy Simpson.

Binns stepped up and calmly converted to force extra time.

Both teams had their fair shot at victory in extra time but lacked composure in front of goal, and so it was on to the dreaded penalty kicks during which Cavalier displayed more composure and White, in particular, exhibited his excellence with two goals.

In the third-place play-off, Tivoli Gardens Football Club edged Mount Pleasant Football Academy 4-3 on penalties after playing out a 1-1 result in full and extra time.

Devonte Campbell gave Mount Pleasant the lead on 27 minutes, but Trayvon Reid pulled the victors level three minutes after the interval.

Teams: Cavalier FC – Jeadine White, Richard King, Jeovanni Laing, Melvin Doxilly, Nickache Murray (Marlando Maxwell 106th), Dwayne Atkinson (Christopher Ainsworth 90th+1), Gadial Irving (Jamar Purcell 86th), Jamoi Topey, Kyle Ming, Ronaldo Webster (Kamoy Simpson 78th, Jerome McLeary 106th), Shaniel Thomas (Collin Anderson 86th)

Subs not used: Giovanni Minto, Ricardo Watson, Renaldo Webster, Lamonth Rochester, Courtney Allen

Booked: Webster (19th), Doxilly (38th), Irving (50th), Atkinson (57th), Simpson (90th+5), Anderson (104th), Ming (120th)

Waterhouse FC — Zemioy Nash, Kymani Campbell, Damion Binns, Elvis Wilson, Nicholy Finlayson, Andre Fletcher (Colorado Murray 75th, Andre Leslie 110th), Ramone Howell, Rohan Beadle (Ricardo Thomas 50th), Shaquille Bradford, Denardo Thomas (Duvaughn Dunkley 110th), Rafeik Thomas (Shevon Stewart 67th)

Subs not used: Altiman Gordon, Akeem Chambers, Shawn Dewar, Roshane Sharpe

Booked: Binns (9th), Finlayson (18th, ejected), Wilson (89th), Bradford (90th+2), R Thomas (90th+2)

Referee: Oshane Nation

Assistant referees: Jasett Kerr-Wilson, Stephanie Sing

Fourth official: Daneon Parchment

Match commissary: Anthony Gibbs