Portmore United retained their status atop the Digicel Premier League (DPL) after holding second end-of-round final aspirants Harbour View to a 0-0 draw at the Harbour View Mini- Stadium yesterday.

The result left Portmore on 43 points, two more than Harbour View, with Boys' Town and Tivoli Gardens joint third on 39.

Entering the day just two points adrift of the leaders, a win for the Stars of the East would have seen them not only replacing Portmore at the top of the table, but possibly setting up a match with the already-qualified St Catherine team in the second end-of-round final, dependent on the result of the Boys' Town, Tivoli game.

Following a listless first half, which produced very little incisive play in the final third, Portmore custodian Dwayne Kerr, called into action early in the second, did his part to frustrate Harbour View's ambitions.

Powerful connection

Striker André Fagan's 56th- minute header seemed destined for the back of the net, but after the forward powerfully connected with a Lance Laing cross, the custodian dove acrobatically to his left, pawing the ball out of the air.

Kerr was again at his best in the 68th minute, getting down quickly to scramble away a Kavin Bryan header from a well-taken corner, before getting in the way of a shot from the rebound, which had fallen to the feet of substitute Rafiek Thomas.

Portmore could have found themselves in the lead on the stroke of half-time but loosely marked in the area, Bryan Bayliss' header from a 45th-minute set piece went powerfully over the goal from no more than four yards away.

Although targeting all three points, Portmore coach Linval Dixon was satisfied with the result.

"We wanted all three points to break away from the pack, but when you look at the performance of both teams today, the result was a fair one," he said.

Clear cut chances

"We never got a lot of clear-cut chances in front of their goal today, but we will work on it for our next couple of games," he said.

Despite missing out on a chance to take the lead, Harbour View assistant coach, Donovan Hayles, stayed positive.

"Our primary aim and objective was to get a win here to move past Portmore in the standings. None-theless we are in touch just two points behind, so we just have to continue plugging our way," said Hayles.

"This hasn't been one of our better rounds in terms of wins, but we have been playing good football and have been strong defensively. We just need to focus on putting the ball into the back of the net and we will keep working at it," he added.