I won’t celebrate if I score – Spence

If any team knows anything about Michael Spence, it is Tivoli Gardens. The 29-year-old spent his entire youth football career at the west Kingston-based club and was their top scorer for a couple of seasons.

Although he played a few topflight games for them, he eventually moved on. However, three seasons ago, the wily striker picked up a horrific ankle injury, while playing for Highgate United, that kept him sidelined and only made full recovery recently. That was when a friend encouraged him to get back into the game. After picking up the phone and calling Cavalier technical director Rudolph Speid, the rest is history.

Since joining the team in January, Spence has netted five times, and going into this Sunday’s play-off game against his former club, he is sensing he will get his sixth of the season. However, he does not intend to celebrate.

“I feel one hundred per cent positive about Sunday. You are going to see something good. I am going to score, I can feel it,” he told STAR Sports. “I just want to enjoy the game, do my job, score, or try to assist and make sure the team wins. I know the crowd is going to come at me but I am looking forward to it, as I am going to score. I am not going to celebrate, but we are going hard for the win,” he insisted.

Since he returned to the league, he has slotted in with ease, but he says he is just getting in tune to really explode next season. “It (league) is not really tough. Most of the defenders show me respect because they know me and that I was the leading scorer in the under-21s. I just wanted to get back into the frame of mind of scoring goals, as next season I am going for the leading scorer award,” he said.

“I have scored a lot of important goals for the club so far, and I hope to continue that this season,” he added.