TUCKER, St James — Montego Bay United snapped a five-game winless run with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Faulkland FC at Wespow Park on Sunday in the first St James Premier League derby in 17 years.

A second-half penalty conversion from veteran Allan Ottey was the difference in the game as Faulkland FC’s season-long winless run continued.

Both coaches, who were taking charge of their teams for the first time since returning from a Concacaf A Licence course in Trinidad, were pleased with what they saw.

Despite going without a win in their last five games, picking up just three points in the process, MBU’s Coach Donovan Duckie thinks his team is improving.

“This was an excellent game for us,” he told the Jamaica Observer. “For the last four games, except the 5-1 loss to Mt Pleasant where we had issues and had no footing to play, we had control over the games. We have been improving, the fitness is up, and tactically we understand what we wanted to achieve. Today we moved the ball around and penetrated when we could, and we had some chances and some half-chances — but we did well,” Duckie added.

Leacroft Lettman, who took over the reigns at Faulkland FC, said their loss could be chalked up to one mistake, the penalty that they gave away.

“Tactically, we played well… we came out in the first half and got the 0-0 draw but that one little mistake cost us the three points. The ball was going away from the goal; it was harsh,” he said.

Sunday’s game was the first between two teams from St James since the 2005-06 season when Wadadah FC and Seba United last met at this stage and a good size crowd was on hand to witness it.

They, however, had to wait for long periods to get any excitement as the teams created very little in the other’s half of the field. MBU had a good chance to open the scoring in the 17th minute but Nazime Matallie-Grant and Courtney Allen both had shots from the edge of the six-yard box blocked by a wall of Faulkland FC defenders.

With the game appeared headed to a stalemate Ottey, who was a first-half substitute for new signing Khalid Hunter, was pushed over in the box by Kyle Anderson but got up and dispatched the penalty to earn MBU their fourth win.

— Paul Reid