There is no bigger challenge for a coach than having to motivate players to give their optimum when squaring off against perceived lesser opponents.

Harbour View Head Coach Ludlow Bernard had one such predicament in their second-leg Lynk Cup quarter-final encounter against Chapelton Maroons on Wednesday.

Fortunately for him a select few in the starting team and on the bench were eager to make the most of playing time, especially with the business end of the season fast approaching, and that resulted in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over their Clarendon opponents at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Romaine Brackenridge (67th) and Rojay Smith (75th) found the target to put the reigning Premier League champions into this knockout semi-final with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline after Earon Elliott’s 33rd-minute strike — his third goal this season in all competition — gave them an early scare.

Harbour View ended with 10 players after Ajeanie Talbott was shown a second yellow and given marching orders late in the game.

“Difficult it was indeed and sometimes it is very hard to lift and motivate your players when playing against a lowly-ranked team because I was unusually very boisterous before the game trying to pump them up, but that didn’t seem to work,” Bernard explained.

“I think what really worked for us were the substitutions that we made, those players that came on had a little bit more bite and it showed in us getting the result,” he added.

With both teams locked at one goal a piece coming into the decisive leg, it was anybody’s guess where the spoils would go, as Harbour View certainly had the better players and form, while Chapelton, reeling from their Premier League relegation, would have wanted to end the failed top-flight season on high.

Chances were at a premium throughout the contest, particularly in the first half in which Harbour View’s best coming in the 20th when Oshane Staple’s shot from distance was equally well saved by Jonathan Campbell in goal for Chapelton.

The Maroons with their first real go at goal made it count courtesy of Elliott, who muscled Odorland Harding off the ball and easily slotted to the left of the slightly advanced Anthony Bennett to put the Clarendon team 1-0 up at the break.

Bernard wasted little time in going to his bench at the resumption and it wasn’t long after that the “Stars of the East” were back on level terms.

A decent right-sided delivery from Staple was mishandled by Campbell, allowing Brackenridge to force home under pressure.

And Smith made the semi-final berth safe when he pounced on loose ball and released a stinging one-time effort that caught the hapless Campbell going the wrong way.

Javier Ellis had an opportunity to keep Chapelton alive in the 80th when he found time and space in the box but somehow dragged a left-footed shot wide and that all but summed up Chapelton’s dismal season.

Still, it was joy for Bernard, who is hoping his players will respond more positively, regardless of their opponents going forward.

“There was something out there late in the game, that little extra to go into and win individual battles, in terms of going forward. But the players have to understand that in order to win games like these … because it doesn’t matter who you are playing against, you really have to be extremely competitive,” he said.

“So it is going to be very interesting going forward. What was pleasing for me is just seeing the depth of the squad, so if we need to call upon players we know they will respond,” Bernard ended.