Sitting ducks! – Waterhouse aim at Boys’ Town
SVETERAN Tivoli Gardens and Reggae Boyz striker Jermaine ‘Teddy’ Johnson has been ruled out for four months with a knee injury he picked up in October. “I think he will be out for another four months. He will have to do surgery on his knee,” coach Omar Edwards told STAR Sports yesterday. ITTING 10th in the standings on eight points, Waterhouse host fellow stragglers, 11th-place Boys’ Town (six points) this afternoon, giving new coach Donovan Duckie possibly his best chance for a win in his third game since taking the reins at Drewsland.
Duckie told STAR Sports that Waterhouse have made strides in the two games since he took over, being more stable defensively. Expressing confidence that they will get it right, eventually, he admitted there is a lot of work to be done.
“It’s a team that has been struggling for two-and-half seasons so, in my mind, there is something that needs to be done differently. That entails things you do off the field and on the field. That’s what we are trying to do,” he said.
“Defensively, they have adopted to the organisation and structure. I am very impressed with our transition, so we are stable and ready to compete with any team. We have to be more clinical because we need results now. If we want results, that is the deciding factor,” he added.
SHOULD FOCUS
“He is an important player, but we have been working with other players. Young Colorado Murray and Andre Moulton are stepping up. We have scored six goals in the last two games and that is good for the team,” Edwards added.
Johnson netted 18 goals last season and won the Premier League’s Golden Boot award. This season, he scored once before injuring his knee against Harbour View on
Waterhouse have the second-worse scoring record in the league behind newcomers Sandals, six goals from 10 matches, one more than Sandals. Duckie believes they should focus on scoring more team goals than individual goals.
“The system we are playing, we are not really playing with a point man. We play that way when ‘Tuffy’ (Jermaine Anderson) was here, (Juvaune) Benjamin, or clinical people like (Andre) Clennon, Gary McIntosh. We play a fluid three up front to give more options.
“We have to quickly improve in all departments. We need to believe in these guys and they need to believe in themselves. I am confident that they will get it right,” he said.
Boys Town are in the relegation zone, level on six points, but above bottom-of-the-table Sandals on goal difference. GAMES ON MoBay United v Humble Lion at 6.30 p.m. Sandals v Reno at 3 p.m. Tivoli v UWI at 3 p.m. Waterhouse v Boys’ Town at 7.30 p.m. October 15.
After losing their first two games, Tivoli have been unbeaten in their last eight games, picking up 18 out of a possible 24 points to be in fourth position in the 12-team league.
Tivoli host UWI at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex today, starting at 3 p.m.