AFTER a draw and a loss to begin the new premier league campaign, Ludlow Bernard was a relived man as Harbour View finally got their first win of the season with a 2-1 victory over Tivoli Gardens on Tuesday.

“It is a big relief. This is a team that has been training very well but [has] probably [been] devoid of luck. We rode our luck today and I think, in the absence of a couple of players, we were very resolute in terms of how we executed ourselves — and I am really, really proud of the guys how they went out there and fought for everything,” he said of the first win this term.

“We lost some of the individual battles but, all in all, I see some of the youngsters growing up, and this is the season that I am really looking forward to them really showing their worth,” said Bernard.

Oshane Staple and Tarick Ximines scored the goals for Harbour View from free kicks, which Bernard said is a hallmark of the club currently.

“This is a team that is prepared to take goals from all available options, and of course if we have good set piece persons in the team we are definitely going to use them. Young Ximines and Staple are two very good kickers of the ball, and it was on display here today,” he explained.

Staple was in contention to take the kick from which Ximines scored and Bernard revealed that it was the more senior player who stepped away to allow his teammate to score the match-winner.

“The positioning of the ball at that time favoured him or Staple, and Staple handed it over to him because both of them are very competent and he just wanted to give him the kick.”

Bernard has ambitions of lifting the premier league title this season and believes that the depth and balance of the squad will put them in serious contention to go all the way.

“I think the squad is sufficiently deep that we can go for it and challenge very seriously [but] it is not going to be easy because it is dominated with a lot of young players. I think the senior leaders inside the group is what is going to carry us, and what I am looking to do is really plug the defensive unit and make it as strong and airtight as possible.”

Fifth-place Harbour View will face fourth-place Arnett Gardens in the first game of the weekend starting at 1:00 pm Saturday. Both teams are tied on four points and are separated by goal difference only.

— Dwayne Richards