Mount Pleasant Football Academy defeated Harbour View 3-0 on Saturday at the Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence at the University of the West Indies, to hold the advantage in their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) quarter-finals battle.

Devonte Campbell scored in the 30th minute, Kesslon Hall in the 54th and Jourdaine Fletcher in the 75th, to ensure that Mount Pleasant will go into next week’s return leg at the same venue, in a commanding position of strength in the two-leg encounter.

Tyrese Williams scored Harbour View’s goal four minutes into second-half added time, as the teams battle to meet Cavalier in the semi-finals.

The format of the league allows the top two teams after the completion of the preliminary stage, direct passage to the semi-finals. Waterhouse won the preliminary stage with Cavalier finishing second and both are sitting out the two weeks of quarter-finals action.

Mount Pleasant finished the preliminary stage third in the points standing and are battling sixth-placed Harbour View to progress to the semi-finals. The other match-up in the quarter-finals pits fourth-placed Tivoli Gardens against fifth-placed Vere united.

In the match on Saturday, Harbour View took the fight to Mount Pleasant in the early stages and launched several attacks on goal with Cristojaye Daley forcing two good saves from goalkeeper Akel Clarke.

Mount Pleasant weathered the early onslaught before scoring the opening goal when Harbour View’s Ronald Robinson tripped while on a dribble midway Mount Pleasant’s half of the pitch. He was robbed of the ball by Kevaughn Isaacs, who held up the ball, before laying it off to the Campbell.

Campbell sprinted down the left flank to the edge of the six-yard box and beat goalkeeper Tafari Chambers at the near post with a powerful left-foot shot.

Both teams exchanged good scoring opportunities in front of goal that forced good saves from the goalkeepers before the lead was extended.

Daniel Green from inside the Mount Pleasant half, played the ball over the Habour View defence down the right, for Hall to run on to and score his fourth goal of the season.

Fletcher increased Mount Pleasant’s advantage further, as he delicately guided the ball with his instead to the far post after a cross from Alwayne Harvey from the right flank, picked him out unmarked, slightly to the right of the penalty spot.

Harbour View countered with Chong, in pursuit of the seventh goal of the season, hitting the upright.

They cut the deficit when Williams collected a ricochet from a ferocious shot from distance by Oshane Staple that beat goalkeeper Clarke and crashed onto the crossbar. The ball rebounded to the ground and the onrushing Williams headed in.

Mount Pleasant’s coach, Walter Downes was pleased that his charges were able to withstand the early pressure that Harbour View placed on them before coming away with the victory.

“It’s a very good performance because we played a very good side. They were very spirited and they pressed us very hard in the first 15 minutes and I thought we were going to be in for a tougher game than I had expected, but we weathered that 15 minutes and then we got our own game going.

“We like to feel that we play on the front foot and attack. We had an attack-minded team today but they really pressed us hard in the midfield and didn’t give us the time to settle, but as the game went on, we got more into the game and we got more confident on the ball and I thought we dominated towards the end of the first half,” Downes said.

Assistant coach at Harbour View, Sean Fraser, was happy that despite players losing the tactical battle, they were able to pull a goal back in the dying stages of the match.