Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
It was a case of so close yet so far for Village United yesterday in their opening game of the Cash Plus Premier League football competition, as former champions Tivoli Gardens rallied from 0-2 down with 10 minutes to go for a 2-2 draw.
Village United shot to the lead courtesy of strikes from Troy Smith in the 44th minute and Leon Irving in the 59th. Roland Dean struck twice for Tivoli Gardens in the 80th and 85th minutes.
Playing before a reasonable-sized crowd at their home ground Elliston Wakeland Centre, Village United surprised many when they attacked the former champions and kept them in a defensive mode. Their aggressive play paid off on the stroke of half-time when Jamaica Under-23 representative, Smith, sent them ahead with a beauty.
The home team went further ahead in the 59th minute as Irving waited patiently, picked his spot and guided his shot from outside the 18-yard box through a crowded goal area.
With his players tiring, coach Christopher Russell took out a hurting Irving and Oneil Robinson who looked commanding in midfield, but the changes did not work for Village.
On the other hand, Tivoli Gardens introduced the aggressive duo of Dwight Heron and Roberto Fletcher and the complexion of the game changed.
Dean, who coasted through most of the game, woke up. He first slid in to guide home a cross from Orane Simpson, who received the ball in what appeared to have been an offside position. Also, the ball seemed to have touched Dean's hand.
Tivoli continued to fight for the equalizer and were rewarded five minutes later when Fletcher selflessly passed to Dean inside the 18-yard box for him to guide home while the defenders stood transfixed.
"I believe the changes made the difference because they did not show any bad feeling about not starting. They came on and worked," said Tivoli coach Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, who admitted that his team was second best in the first half.
Village's Russell said: "It is the age-old thing that coaches have always said that players need to concentrate for 90 minutes. Players just cannot hold their concentration levels but it was mainly due to physical conditioning though."
"We really started late. Our pre-season actually started August 20 and we are not where we want to be but we will get there and this one game alone cannot define us," said Russell, who previously coached Central Link in Spanish Town.
| Village | 2 |
Troy Smith 44th Leon Irving 59th Tivoli | 2 |
Roland Dean 80th, 85th
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