Hodges

Although Rivoli United Football Club secured themselves from relegation by drawing their Digicel Premier League football match against Village United 1-1, their coach was not pleased.

He said that each match should be played in a competitive nature and that was not on display when Rivoli secured themselves by moving to 42 points.

"We are safe. However, it's as if we did not respect the opponent and that's really disappointing for me. Next season, we will be looking at some of the under-21 players to deal with the situation as complaceny will not be tolerated," remarked Oneil Thomas, the Rivoli coach.

The match, played in front of a packed Spanish Town Prison Oval, saw the league's joint top goalscorer, Devon Hodges, putting his team in front in the 17th minute.

He received a through pass from strike partner Valentine Gardener and made no mistake, slotting past Elvis Hart for his 19th goal of the season.

Rivoli continued to dominate the proceedings but did not add to their tally.

Penalty

As the match went on, the team from Trelawny came into their own and at the 43rd minute, they earned a penalty after defender Omar Parker fouled Orlando McBayne in the 18-yard box. Ronique Francis converted the penalty, ending the half 1-1.

On the resumption, it was the team from Trelawny who played more purposefully and looked more cohesive in their many attacks on the Rivoli goal.

Kanardo Wilson, Everett Mullings, Francis and Shavar Campbell all had the Rivoli defence under constant pressure. At one point they got three consecutive corners, but their failure to score left them precariously placed as they battled to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Coach of Village United's team, Cassman Williams, said he almost resigned himself to the inevitable.

''It was an evenly contested match but, based on the result, we are almost certain to be out of the competition next year. But we will do our best in the two remaining fixtures,'' noted Williams.

Village are second from bottom in the 12-team standings on 34 points, one behind Meadhavenn and two adrift of Sporting Central Academy. Two teams will be demoted.