By Paul-Andre Walker, Staff Reporter
Tivoli Gardens' Waheem Walker (right) tries to turn away from the stumbling tackle of San Juan Jabloteh's Kerry Noray during the second-leg of the CONCACAF Club Championship's semi-final qualifier at the Edward Seaga Stadium yesterday. Tivoli won the game 1-0 to come away 2-1 aggregate winners.- JUNIOR DOWIE/Staff Photographer
THE CARIBBEAN will be represented by a Jamaican team at the CONCACAF Club Championships after Tivoli, with a 2-1 aggregate win over San Juan's Jabloteh at the Edward Seaga Stadium yesterday, joined Harbour View in the final of the qualification segment of the tournament.
After playing to a 1-1 draw in Trinidad, Tivoli scored the only goal of the game through a 57th minute Markino Gillings header to send the visitors packing.
Newly-appointed Jabloteh player/coach Angus Eve, who should have played but for a slight knock that he received earlier, thought Tivoli's intensity brought them victory.
"Today we never matched the intensity of Tivoli Gardens and that was the difference," Eve said. "We just never raised our game to the level that they were playing. We played in patches and you can't win games like that," he said.
STERLING PASSING GAME
Eve's analysis of the game was right on target. While Tivoli didn't produce the sterling passing game that has become a trademark of their play, they were first to the ball and looked the hungrier team for the most part.
That intensity looked like it would have paid off as early as the 12th minute when Kemar Mills, who was looking like the best player on the park, failed to make proper contact with a header from seven yards out.
In the next minute, Mills showed his class by beating an opponent down the left flank and playing an early square into Gillings whose gentle tap from point-blank range was knocked away for a corner.
Tivoli's attacks would go to pieces by the 28th minute though and Mills then had very little to do as his team was more concerned with making crunching tackles.
Against the run of play though, it was Tivoli who had another opportunity to go a goal up when Gillings, who had found himself through on goal, rounded Jabloteh's goalkeeper, Daurance Williams. Finding the angle at goal too tight he tried to play a cross inside to Mills but failed to find his teammate.
In the second half, Jabloteh brought out the same team with a little more self-belief and Tivoli were put on the back foot. While Jabloteh were mounting more attacks, it was Tivoli who were more dangerous. Denroy Gordon a shot after being put through from a one-time pass. His shot was just wide, exposing Williams, who had been looking a little shaky from the outset.
Tivoli should have taken advantage of the goalkeeper's seeming incompetence in the 51st minute when he failed to hold on to an Oraine Simpson cross and Tivoli again couldn't find a way to put the ball into the back of an empty net.
WELL-TAKEN HEADER
Gillings soon made up for that though with a well-taken header from a similar Simpson cross.
Tivoli coach Glendon 'Admiral Bailey' was happy with the result and even more happy for the all-Jamaica final.
"We played them down there and we knew it was going to be a tough game. It's a good team and we stuck to it," Bailey said.
"It was always the aim to have an all-Jamaican final, so at the end of the day it will be a Jamaican team representing the Caribbean," he said.
