Tivoli, Portmore in dull JPL draw
Published:Tuesday | April 5, 2022 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Tivoli Gardens technical director, Glendon ‘Admiral’ Bailey, said getting a point against Portmore in their Jamaica Premier League (JPL) game at Sabina Park yesterday was crucial to rebuilding team confidence and remounting a challenge for a play-off spot.
Coming into last night’s game, Tivoli Gardens were on a three-game losing streak and Bailey said the ultimate aim was not to lose and he credited the players for their response in the 1-1 draw.
“We are on a slump. We went through a patch of bad results so I told them the objective was to come away with at least a point today.
“So I give them credit for that because an ugly win is better than a pretty loss, and sometimes you have to be ugly to get the results and it was an ugly game today but we got the result. So if we could not get three, we had to leave with one and the guys responded very well,” he said.
CRUSHED CONFIDENCE
He added that the team played well in the first round but was just not getting the wins and the three straight defeats at the end of the first round crushed their confidence.
“It affected our confidence, so we definitely came today to stop the bleeding. Once we stop the bleeding it will bring back some confidence in the camp and then we can go for the maximum points,” he said.
Tivoli are currently eighth in the standings with 13 points, two adrift of Portmore in seventh place. Bailey reasoned that a lot more work needs to be done with the players but remains convinced they can secure one of the top six places for a place in the play-offs.
“We start the second round off with a point and we can only build from here. There are some areas we need to put extra work on and we will be doing that. But the bottom half of the top six is very catchable,” he stated.
Tivoli took the lead in the game after 15 minutes when Ranike Anderson headed them in front from a free kick. However, the game deteriorated afterwards and both teams struggled on offence. Shavan McDonald came close for Portmore but goalkeeper Kewong Watkins was equal to the task.
Portmore equalised a minute before the break when Watkins launched a pass deep inside the Tivoli Gardens defence and during a melee Keny Charleston slammed into an unguarded net.
In the second half, the two teams continued to struggle to create opportunities.
Charleston came close for Portmore but his header drifted wide of the target. McDonald also broke through the Tivoli defence but his shot was not hard enough to beat Watkins.
Portmore grew stronger as the game went on and looked more likely to take home full points but failed to convert their chances.
Portmore’s coach, Lenworth Hyde, was impressed with his team’s intensity and believes it augurs well for them going forward.
“I like the intensity and spirit. The fight we showed the last game we saw some of it in this game. But we are trying to put both things together, the work rate and playing together and I think we will get that.
“It wasn’t a bad game or a bad result. We created numerous chances and should have won the game. Tivoli do not allow you to relax but we handled the press well, we got out some of the times and should have scored. But we just have to continue working and try to build these players,” he said.