‘Fuzzy’ rues first RSPL loss to TG

Coach of the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Red Stripe Premier League team Marcel ‘Fuzzy’ Gayle was left disappointed on Sunday after his team’s first loss to Tivoli Gardens since their top-flight debut two years ago.

UWI went down 2-3 to Tivoli in an exciting and rough contest, which saw Gayle’s team losing Kemar Flemmings – a former defender for Tivoli Gardens, in the second half after he was issued a second yellow card by referee Cordella Samuels.

“I am disappointed, but look at it this way, 10 men down, coming back 2-2, then losing 3-2 in the closing minutes of the game,” Gayle assessed. “We made some poor choices in defence. It is a thing we hope to correct in time for the next game.”

Gayle also explained his reason for substituting the competition’s joint leading scorer Ryan Miller mid-way the second half, pointing to fatigue.

“Ryan was feeling a bit tired and we had more energy on the bench so that was the decision. We added some pace to help defensively and offensively,” he explained.

“We made some errors in defence and that cost us the game. But I think my players played well today. The season is still long, we have some way to go. We have some players out due to injury, and we are hoping that they can recover for the next game,” Gayle concluded.

Tivoli moved clear in third position on 29 points, behind joint leaders Portmore United and Arnett Gardens, who are both on 34 points. UWI remained in fourth position in the standings on 24 points in the 12-team league.