Dunbeholden FC secured a third win on the trot, while Molynes United broke a four-match losing skid, after both registered 1-0 and 2-0 victories over Humble Lions and Portmore United, respectively, to cap match week 10 of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) on Monday.

The league’s leading marksman and new national call-up Atapharoy Bygrave continued his impressive form this season, scoring the curtain-raiser’s solitary goal in the 70th minute.

Meanwhile, Kingston College’s Carrick Stewart (9th minute) and another national call-up Nicholas Nelson (53rd) got the job done for Molynes United in the feature contest of the double-header at Sabina Park.

With the win, Dunbeholden FC jumped into second position on 22 points, one point behind leaders Waterhouse FC on 23 points. Molynes United, with their second win of the season, inched back up to 11th position on seven points.

Portmore United (11 points) and Humble Lions (nine points) remain in seventh and ninth positions respectively on the 12-team standing.

Having entered the contest in rich form, Dunbeholden would have been confident of bagging all three points against a Humble Lions unit, which entered on a five-match unbeaten run, but have struggled to secure maximum points throughout.

The St Catherine-based team started with purpose, as they dictated terms with a number of have chances in what was a fairly lively but goalless first half.

Dunbeholden maintained the momentum on the resumption and while their chances were far and few in between, their Clarendon-based opponents seemed content with absorbing the pressure as they offered very little in attack.

After a couple of misfires, it was only a matter of time before Dunbeholden found their range which they inevitably did immediately after a water break.

A decent build-up orchestrated by the always reliable Nickoy Christian, allowed Peter McGregor to breach a seemingly weary Humble Lions defence, before playing a pass across the face of goal for Bygrave to tap in from close range for his ninth goal of the season.

The striker, who welcomed the call-up by senior Reggae Boyz Head Coach Paul Hall for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, said he felt no pressure to deliver.

“It was kind of difficult at first but we knew the task at hand and so we just stuck to our game plan. I knew the ball would come to me and so as a striker I just remained confident, did what I had to do and just hoping to continue scoring goals,” he said in a post-match interview.

With not many goals being scored this week and both Molynes United and Portmore United struggling for consistency, there wasn’t much hype around the day’s second fixture.

However, Molynes United’s hunger for a win was on display early and soon enough they were out in front when Sergeni Frankson’s measured cross found Stewart unmarked and the defensive midfielder capitalised with a tidy finish to the left of Benjamin Williams on goal for Portmore United.

Molynes United failed to create more meaningful chances from there, while Portmore United settled and played well in patches, but they too were unable to cause problems in the attacking third, as the score remained unchanged at the break.

The Lenworth Hyde-coached Portmore looked more spirited on the resumption, showing more enterprise in their attacking thrust for the equaliser, but again lacked the quality where it mattered most – in front of goal.

That allowed Molynes United to double their lead, capping the win against the run of play, as Jeremy Nelson played a cheeky heel pass back to his younger brother Nicholas, who drove a sweet left-footer past the hapless Williams.

The former Hydel striker attributed his increased confidence to his inclusion in the Reggae Boyz’s 23-man squad to face El Salvador on Wednesday.

“It [the call-up] gave me a lot of confidence and pushed me a lot in this game,” the younger Nelson said.

Monday’s results

Dunbeholden FC 1, Humble Lions 0

Molynes United 2, Portmore United 0