Montego Bay United missed a first-half penalty and a glorious chance to climb up the Jamaica Premier League table after battling to a 0-0 draw with Cavalier at the Ashenhiem Stadium on Sunday.

Montego Bay’s Leonardo Foggarty failed from the penalty spot when he kicked straight at Cavalier goalkeeper Vino Barclett in the 26th minute.

It was a crucial missed opportunity in a contest that offered limited scoring chances.

With the result, Montego Bay United inched to 16 points and remain in 10th spot. Second-placed Cavalier moved to 25 points, five adrift of leaders Mount Pleasant.

“I am very disappointed,” said Montego Bay’s Head Coach Donovan Duckie.

“I mean, we did our analysis of the Cavalier’s team and we knew their strength and we forced them into some areas they didn’t want to play in and made it very uncomfortable for them,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Duckie said he was pleased with what he saw of a young, inexperienced team in transition.

“What is important is that we kept a clean sheet today, and this is a massive, significant improvement for us, so this is a solid platform for us to build on,” he noted.

Cavalier let slip the chance to stay in touch with the leaders after top scorer Colin Anderson got a clear look on goal but headed wide from close range in the 55th minute. That came moments after Shaniel Thomas’s goal-bound shot was deflected over the bar as Cavalier turned up the pressure in the second half.

Cavalier’s Head Coach Rudolph Speid said he knew it was going to be a tough game against “a difficult team to score on”.

He added: “They have some flexibility in how they play. Sometimes they press, sometimes they drop off, but we got some chances and should have done better.

“We definitely played too slow in the first half, we were trying to keep possession in our half rather than trying to penetrate, but it’s something we have to work on.”

At Drax Hall, the in-form Trivante Stewart netted a hat-trick as Mount Pleasant whipped last season finalists Dunbeholden 3-0.

Stewart netted in the 40th, 50th, and 55th minutes, taking his tally to a league-high 13 goals for the season.

It was Mount Pleasant’s ninth win from 13 games and they rushed to 30 points, well in charge of the league.

It was Dunbeholden’s fourth loss of the season and they provisionally remained in sixth spot on 19 points.

For the second-consecutive week Lamard Neil scored in the first three minutes as Vere United edged Harbour View 1-0 to move to 13 points in 12th spot.

At Effortville, home team Humble Lions and Waterhouse FC battled to a 0-0 draw. Humble Lions remain in fourth spot on 21 points, while Waterhouse are in seventh spot on 18 points.