Despite their irregular form in the Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League this season, Harbour View FC General Manager Clyde Jureidini and head coach Ludlow Bernard say they can overcome their challenges and contend for a spot in the playoffs.

The Stars of the East are one of the most successful teams in the top flight with five league title, their most recent coming in 2022. Last season, the club lost in the semi-finals to Cavalier, finishing as one of the top four teams in the country. Putting this into perspective, it’s hard to believe the club has been struggling this campaign, lying in the bottom four of the 14-team league.

After 15 games, they sit 11th on 16 points, with just three wins to their name. In fact, two of those wins came earlier this month as they went without a victory in their first eight games.

They’ve given up 21 goals this season, which is the fifth worst defensive record in the league and Jureidini says that has been a major factor in their struggles.

“Our defensive unit that we’ve had for the last three seasons and have banked on, unfortunately we have been giving up goals and that has been our Achilles heel all season, both in the Caribbean Cup and the Premier League,” Jureidini told the
Jamaica Observer. “We’ve been giving up goals in duplicate almost every game and that has put us in a position where we have to come from behind or not able to retain leads.”

Harbour View has also struggled offensively and matters were made worse when national striker Shaquiel Bradford, who had eight league goals, saw his loan spell cut short and joined defending champions Mount Pleasant from Waterhouse earlier this month.

Jureidini says the 23-year-old’s departure caught the club by surprise.

“He did [intend to stay],” Jureidini said. “He was very settled, he was very motivated, he was in a high-performance mode, and we charted a different development path for him and presented him to the local and international market as a finisher and a striker. [But] the agreement and the contract we had was broken and he was moved back to Waterhouse, then to Mount Pleasant. We’re grateful to him and the short time he spent with us, we think it would have been a massive movement for him because we had start making something available for him locally, regionally, and internationally, but that’s beyond our control, so we move on.”

Bernard says it will be tough to replace Bradford’s output.

“He’s a big loss,” he said. “You can’t discount 11 goals for the season with three in Concacaf and eight in the Premier League. So, you can’t discount that at all. With the exodus of Bradford, we still have to come up with a response where that’s concerned. Andre (Fagan) as been doing a good job and, of course, the other fellows on the pitch. We have to look within the squad, but hopefully we can come up with a solution very quickly.”

However, there is a feeling of optimism around the club as though they’re nine points above the relegation zone, they’re just eight points outside the play-off positions, which Jureidini feels is in reach.

“Get to the top six, that’s our main aim,” he said. “Drive for the top six, whether it be sixth, fifth, fourth, or third. But at the moment, the nearest point is to target the sixth position, so getting those points with victories is our main target.”

Harbour View return to action on Monday as they take on Arnett Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex at 7:00 pm.