Waterhouse look to rebound from midweek loss
Tivoli’s ‘Babylon’ Dawkins breaks UWI jinx
Waterhouse will look to rebound from a first loss in the Red Stripe Premier League Second Round when they host FC Reno at Drewsland Stadium in tonight’s 8:30 kick-off.
Waterhouse went down 1-2 to Portmore United last Wednesday in a contentious affair at Prison Oval. Since the second round and under the guidance of Donovan Duckie, the Waterhouse team picked up seven points out of a possible 12 as they moved up from 10th to seventh position in the 12-team league.
This is Waterhouse’s best position in the last three seasons, which saw them battle with relegation in the previous two seasons, and survived the drop on the last preliminary match day of last season.
Now, Duckie, who took charge from Glendon ‘Admiral’ Bailey last month, has given the Waterhouse supporters some hope of a top-six finish this season.
Waterhouse will rely on Kemar ‘Bushy’ Beckford, who has netted three times so far, as well as Mark ‘Hundred’ Miller, veteran defender Nicholy Finlayson, Tremaine ‘Tan Tan’ Stewart, and Andre McFarlane to maximise home turf advantage.
PROLIFIC STRIKER
Meanwhile, FC Reno are also doing well this season with prolific striker Craig Foster leading the way for his club with eight goals this season. The Michael ‘Jim Dandy’ Graham-coached team will also look to Fancy-Hue Stewart, Afiba Chambers, and Lynval Wilson to continue their good run in the league.
In yesterday’s game at Edward Seaga Sports Complex in west Kingston, Tivoli beat UWI 3-2 for their first win over the Mona-based team in the league.
Dawyne ‘Rick’ Smith sent the visiting UWI into the lead in the 15th minute. But, the home side bounced back with goals by Colorado Murray in the 45th minute and Tevin Shaw (58th) for a 2-1 lead. Then UWI’s substitute Andrae Bernal found the equaliser in the 74th minute. However, substitute Donovan Dawkins found the winner in the 83rd minute.
Former national Under-17 striker Donovan ‘Babylon’ Dawkins’ dream of playing and scoring against the University of the West Indies (UWI) became reality yesterday when he netted the game winner for Tivoli Gardens in a pulsating 3-2 Red Stripe Premier League victory at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex.
Dawkins’ goal in the 83rd minute, created history for his club, as they beat UWI for the first time since the latter gained promotion two years ago. He came on as a substitute in the closing minutes and scored with his first touch,
The 20-year-old Dawkins was elated to score the all-important goal which took the proverbial monkey off his team’s back.
“I feel so good because I always want to play against UWI and score on them. This is my second game of the season, but first ever against UWI in the three seasons that I play for Tivoli in the Premier League,” he told STAR Sports yesterday.
“I was confident in coming off the bench and scoring. It was my first touch. I always tell myself that I want to play and score against them,” he shared.
Dawkins was away during the summer on vacation with his family and came back in October, several weeks after the season had already started.
“I was away with my family and came back in October. Now I am working to get my fitness up to a level. I am not fully fit but working on my fitness,” the burly striker said.
He had high praises for his club coach, Omar ‘Tiger’ Edwards.
“He (Edwards) always encourages me and he is helping with my fitness work. He is always helping me,” Dawkins added.
Dawkins says he his looking towards a professional contract and has ambitions of representing the country at the highest level.
“I want to play professionally overseas. That is one of my main objectives,” the Tivoli Gardens resident stated.