Livingston’s late strike sinks Vere
RASHAWN LIVINGSTON continued his excellent form in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) when he scored the lone goal in Molynes United’s 1-0 win over Vere United at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.
The forward’s 83rd-minute strike was the difference between the teams in an evenly matched game. Livingston, who had a goal and an assist in Molynes’ only other win (3-2) over Humble Lion, is confident that he will maintain his good form.
“I tried to do my best as always, and it paid off. I feel great and excited about the goal. It was the only goal, and when you score a winning goal, it motivates you to put in more work and get the job done.
“But getting three points was one of the main aims in this week’s training. We needed it,” Livingston said after the match.
“The good start to the season is because of the hard work in preseason. We put in a lot of work and now it’s paying off.
“Throughout the season, most likely, the form is going to be the same. We want to win silverware, and the team is competitive. So we are looking forward to silverware this season, and my aim is 15 goals,” Livingston added.
Molynes came very close to opening the scoring very early, but Tyrique Wilson’s freekick smashed the bar and went over in the 14th minute. Moments later, Vere’s Javier Brown was left unmarked at the back post, but his shot just missed the upright.
A few minutes later, the Vere captain struck the post with a low drive from 18 yards.
After the break, Vere missed two great early chances while Molynes’ Jason Wright got in the way of Livingston after an excellent defencesplitting pass.
Livingston had two other chances near to the end but came under pressure and lost possession.
He eventually broke the deadlock after racing through on a pass inside the box before driving past his marker and toeing the ball over the goal-line through a crowd of defenders.
“Three points were important. We needed this,” said Molynes coach Alex Thomas.
“They showed heart, determination, grit, and an ugly win is better than a pretty loss. We grind it out and come out on top,” he said.
He also commended Livingston on his season thus far.
“He has been very impressive. Rashawn Livingston is doing well for himself and the team in training and in games. If he keeps it up, the sky’s the limit,” Thomas said.
Vere’s Linval Dixon said they wanted to secure at least a point from the match.
“It is a disappointing result. We came here to get at least a point. We lost concentration in the latter part of the game and we paid dearly for it,” he said.