SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Despite his team retaking the lead on the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) points table, Montego United’s (MBU) Head Coach Xavier Gilbert had “mixed feelings” about their 2-1 win over Treasure Beach FC in their second-round game played at St Elizabeth Technical Sports Complex in Santa Cruz on Sunday.

MBU’s first win in three games took them to 29 points — one more than previous leaders Racing United who were held to a 0-0 draw by Waterhouse at a muddy Ferdie Neita Park.

In the other game played on Sunday, Phoenix Chapelton Maroons beat Harbour View FC 2-1 for back-to-back wins, propelling them to sixth place on 18 points.

The wins for MBU and Phoenix Chapelton Maroons were the second against their opponents this season; MBU had won 3-1 in the first round, while Phoenix Chapelton were 2-0 winners.

Dunbeholden FC’s game against Spanish Town Police FC was postponed due to a waterlogged field at the Dunbeholden Sports Complex.

At the STETHS Sports Complex, MBU scored twice in the first 22 minutes after being held scoreless in their previous two games, ending a period of 195 minutes between their 81st-minute goal against Arnett Gardens on December 15th and Dwight Merrick’s first goal of the season, in the seventh minute yesterday.

Gilbert told the Jamaica Observer that while there were some things he was happy with in the game, there were other aspects with which he was displeased.

“I think some indiscipline crept into the game today and we almost self-destructed,” Gilbert said. “We should have been much better today, but how we deal with these situations will determine how well we do in the competition.”

One of the measures he took yesterday was pulling wing back Philando Wing at half-time, noting afterwards they had a situation where communication on the field broke down.

On the positive side he said, “We are finding our footing after two poor results and we will continue to improve as we go along.”

Kemario Ricketts, the Treasure Beach coach, rued what he said was a slow start but believes they had a chance to take something from the contest.

“We made some adjustments and got back into the game, and I thought we could have at least taken a point,” said Ricketts.

Treasure Beach only had 15 players dressed for the game, and Ricketts said it has been a challenge for the club.

“We had 14 [players] in the midweek game [as] we are going through a phase right now [and] we have some injuries. And we have some new players to come in as we intend to stay in the league.”

Merrick opened the scoring when he was quickest to react to a weak effort from Treasure Beach FC’s goalkeeper Mowey Morgan to punch away a cross from the left side, side-footing it into the goal from about six yards out.

Deonjay Brown doubled the lead in the 22nd minute when he beat Morgan from close range after the Treasure Beach defence failed to get the ball away.

Tommy Lawrence pulled a goal back for Treasure Beach when he scored in the 38th, but despite getting very good scoring opportunities the home team failed to make any more inroads.

At Turner Field in Clarendon, Phoenix Chapelton overcame a penalty miss in the first half to beat Harbour View who were losing back-to-back games and are in 11th position on 14 points — two points above the relegation zone.

Zhaine Pinnock gave Phoenix Chapelton the lead after just three minutes, and after missing a penalty midway the first half they gave up a goal in the 65th minute when Rohan Brown pulled Harbour View level at 1-1.

Sean Leighton’s 85th-inute goal, however, made the difference as they won consecutive games for only the second time this season.

Sunday’s results

Racing United 0, Waterhouse FC 0

Treasure Beach 1, Montego Bay United 2

Dunbeholden FC vs Spanish Town Police – Postponed

Phoenix Chapelton Maroons 2, Harbour View 1