Tivoli look to heap more woe on lowly Dunbeholden
THINGS COULD hardly get better for Omar Edwards and his charges at Tivoli Gardens, even with the state of emergency which has restricted movement in west Kingston. Unbeaten in their opening two games, the western Kingston-based team sits at the top of the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) alongside Cavalier and newcomers Mount Pleasant Academy, the only teams yet to drop a point.
Today, the former champions will be hosting the newly promoted Dunbeholden FC of Portmore, St Catherine, who occupy a position at the opposite end of the table as they are yet to earn a point. While happy with his team’s position and aware of the opposition’s performance thus far, Edwards is taking nothing for granted.
“We are playing at home against Dunbeholden, who have lost their first two games, but we are not going to take them for granted,” Edwards said.
“They will be looking for ways to bounce back, and that could make them very dangerous,” the national youth coach added.
While happy with the position
EDWARDS
his team now holds, Edwards said that with the improved attitude of his players, improved playing surface on which a lot of work was done, there should be a good show.
“I am looking forward to both teams putting the ball down on the surface and putting on a good performance, and I want to encourage supporters and neutrals to come out and watch some good football despite the state of emergency. All you have to do is to take your ID and let the soldiers know you are coming to watch some football,” Edwards said.
Despite losing their opening matches, Dunbeholden president Donovan Witter believes that this league is not too big for his players.
“Definitely, no. It is not beyond our expectations at all. As a matter of fact, we thought that the first two games would have been more difficult for us.
MORE THAN COMFORTABLE
“The number of chances we created and the goals we conceded showed that we are more than comfortable here, and I will tell you that we took the positives from those two games and, hopefully, the transition will come tomorrow,” Witter stated confidently.
While many neutrals felt that Dunbeholden were hard done by in their opening game, Witter said that he was more disappointed at the end of the second game in which they lost by another penalty to Montego Bay United.
“I was very disappointed with our performance as we squandered 13 chances against them, but all of that is behind us, but the reality
IIIIIIArnett Gardens vs Reno – Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex
Portmore United vs Humble Lion – Prison Oval
Tivoli Gardens vs Dunbeholden – Edward Seaga Sports Complex
UWI FC vs Cavalier – UWI Mona Bowl
Waterhouse vs Harbour View – Waterhouse Stadium
Montego Bay United vs Mount Pleasant – Montego Bay Sports Complex now is that we are looking forward to tomorrow’s game,” Witter declared.
While their chances will not be helped by an injury to offseason acquisitions, they will be looking to Eric Edwards, Shaquille Dyer, Nicoy Christian, Adrian Williams, and Andre Dyer.
Tivoli Gardens, on the other hand, will be looking to the likes of Tevin Shaw, Colorado Murray, and Barrington Price.
At the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, home team Arnett Gardens are expected to bounce back to winning ways, getting the better of Reno, while Humble Lion should not find the going tough against defending champions Portmore United.
Joint leaders Cavalier FC should be fancied against home team UWI FC, while the Waterhouse-Harbour View clash could go either way. Cavalier Tivoli
Mt. Pleasant UWI FC Portmore Arnett Waterhouse MoBayUnited H.View
H. Lion Dunbeholden Reno 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 4 3 3 3 3 1 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 3 1 1 2 3 2 2 3 3 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 -2 -2 -2 6 6 6 4 3 3 3 3 1 0 0 0