Leaders Tivoli Gardens send a strong statement that they will be a force to be reckoned with after clipping champion Harbour View 2-1 at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex yesterday.

Goals by Oraine Simpson in the 67th and substitute Jermaine Taylor in the 90^th, propelled Tivoli Gardens to their 12^th win of the campaign and into the second End-of-Round final.

Simpson converted a 67th minute penalty after young striker Navion Boyd was deemed to have been fouled in the box by referee Kevin Morrison. But a closer look would show that he fell on his own. Even Chico Santos, the Brazilian goalkeeping coach shook his head while indicating that it was not a penalty in his book.

Several Harbour View players protested Morrison.’ decision and the fiery Richard Edwards was shown the red card in the process.

Harbour View playing with 10-men was given a lifeline with a Tivoli Gardens’ defender handled the ball in the box. Clifton Waugh stepped up and send goalkeeper Edsel Scott the wrong way to level the score in the 83rd minute.

But Harbour View made the cardinal mistake of pushing for the win although playing a man short and were duly exposed at the back allowing substitute Taylor to fire a well placed shot wide of the diving Dwayne Miller in goal for the winner in the dying moments.

Tivoli Gardens which started the day on 37 points move three points clear on 40 points after closest rivals Portmore United and Waterhouse both drop crucial points.

Defending champion Harbour View remain in fourth on 32 points and are slowly seeing their title slipping away from them with some below par performances since capturing the Caribbean Club title in November.

Second-placed Portmore United came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw with Arnett Gardens at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

Horace Sharpe gave the home team a 55th minute lead tapping in from close range before Damion Williams equalized for Portmore in the 57th minute.

The home team dominated their more fancied opponent and should have walked away with all three points.

Portmore United, with the share of the points, move to 37 points in second position, falling three points behind Tivoli Gardens after 21 games.

Arnett Gardens continued their unbeaten run since the return of coach Jerome Waite to four games inclusive of two wins and two draws to be on 23 points in 10^th place.

There was a shocker at Drewsland, where cellar team Village United stunned the red hot Waterhouse 2-0 with goal from Troy Smith and Rohan Reid in the 39^th and 88^th minutes respectively.

Waterhouse ran into early trouble when goalkeeper Richard McCullum got injured midway the first half and his replacement Preston Smith was red carded after fouling Fabian Dawkins ten minutes later.

Having already utilised their goalkeeping substitution, Waterhouse put Horace Howell between the sticks.

Smith calmly stepped up a put away the spot kick for the Trelawny-based team. Waterhouse then missed a penalty when Kevin Lamey kicked wide in the 58^th minute but the tall Reid sealed Village’s third win of the season.

Waterhouse remain in third position on 35 points while Village continued their relentless battled to climb out of the relegation zone on 16 points.

Fellow struggler August Town also registered a rare win edging Sporting Central Academy 2-1 at Brancourt.

Daniel Shaw and Tremaine Stewart scored for August Town which was securing only their fifth win of the campaign to move to 20 points but still in 11^th spot in the 12-team league.

Sporting Central slipped a place to seventh on 25 points.

Dwayne Ford gave Sporting Central a ninth minute lead but Shaw, who was notching his 10^th goal of the season, once again scored from a dead ball situation to leveled the score in the 41^st minute. Both teams came out attacking in search of the winner but it took a briiliant shot from the young and talented Tremaine Stewart  to settled the tie in the 49^th minute.

Stewart, a former star player with Eltham High School two season’s ago, picked up a ball and slammed a sizzling shot over the head of goalkeeper Leighton Murray.

Boys’ Town were the biggest movers jumping from ninth to sixth after edging St George’s 1-0 courtesy of an Oneil McDonald strike in the 48th minute.

Boys’ Town with their fifth victory move are on 26 points, the same as sixth-placed St George’s, but behind on the head-to-head clash.