Tivoli, Arnett in dull 0-0 Champions League draw

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Tivoli Gardens and arch-rivals Arnett Gardens featured in a dull 0-0 draw in their Claro-KSAFA Champions League match at the University of the West Indies Bowl yesterday.

Both teams began the game shakily and thus failed to create meaningful scoring chances. National striker Navion Boyd got Tivoli's best chance in the first period but his point-blank right-footed effort went wide of the target.

At the other end, Arnett Gardens' Roy Forbes should have given his team the lead on the stroke of half-time but his clear header in front of goal went over the crossbar.

Tivoli Gardens dominated the second half, as they created a number of clear-cut opportunities which the forwards failed to convert. The easiest went to Dane Kelly but his shot from six metres was tipped over the bar by Arnett's custodian Damion Hyatt.

Five minutes later, substitute Shawn McKoy's close-range effort was cleared off the goal line by an Arnett defender. Tivoli's Keammar Daley also came close but his long-range shot was well held by Hyatt.

Dying moments

Arnett's substitute Newton Sterling went close to scoring in the dying moments of the match but after outsprinting two defenders, and with goalkeeper Edsel Scott at his mercy, he fired his left-footer wide of the target.

Despite the draw, Alvin Shaw, assistant coach of Tivoli Gardens, said he was satisfied with his team's efforts.

"I don't think it was a bad performance from us because a Tivoli and Arnett match is never an easy encounter and despite the score, I think I can still take some good from it," said Shaw. "We have been working on our ball possession and I saw it today, but our shooting was a bit off and we just have to continue to work on this before the Premier League season starts."

Meanwhile, Wayne Fairclough, coach of Arnett, said: "I think that it was an excellent game from us, even though we were not as quick on the ball as we would have liked. However, most of the players that we used today played in the Super League last season and that league is much slower. Now they are going up against Premier League players."

He added: "I think we have an outside chance of advancing but we are not going to depend on that because we are using this competition as part of our preparations for the Premier League competition."