Cavalier ends 40-year drought to lift the Premier League trophy
Cavalier FC is now two-time champions of the Jamaica Premier League after defeating former champions Waterhouse FC in a nerve-racking penalty shoot-out at the Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence on Saturday.
The game ended 1-1 in regular time and after playing 30 minutes of extra time both teams could not break the deadlock.
From the opening whistle, it was Cavalier who asserted themselves quickly and took the early lead in the 17th minute. The youthful team clad in all white was awarded a corner kick and defender Jamoi Topey made no mistake, putting his team in front with a thumping header, beating Zemioy Nash in goal.
Subsequently, Waterhouse was left with serious cause for concern after their team captain Nicholai Findlayson was cautioned for an infringement and was then sent off for having words with the referee, just one minute after going down 1-0.
The game intensified despite Waterhouse playing with ten men. However, with time winding down and Cavalier seeming sure winners of the tie, Cavalier goalkeeper Jaedean White had to make back-to-back saves to keep out Colorado Murray’s strong efforts on goal.
However, when all seemed lost for Waterhouse, they were awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the game and Damion Binns calmly placed his spot-kick in the back of the net in the 90+8 minutes to take the game to extra time.
The penalty was awarded after referee Oshane Nation pointed to the spot claiming that a Cavalier defender handled the ball inside the box after a final Waterhouse surge on the goal.
Shaquille Bradford, Shevon Stewart, Andre Leslie and Ricardo Thomas scored for Waterhouse, while Richard King, Jamoi Topey, Melvin Doxilly, Marlando Maxwell and Jamar Purcell scored to give Cavalier a final 5-4 victory.
It was another bitter moment for Waterhouse because they have now lost three consecutive premier league finals.
In the third-place play-off earlier, Tivoli Gardens defeated Mount Pleasant, also in another penalty shootout that ended 4-3.
