Tivoli Gardens' TG) aim to join Waterhouse

André Lowe, Senior Staff Reporter

With a space in Sunday's Digicel Premier League (DPL) first End-of-Round final already guaranteed, one can be excused for questioning Tivoli Gardens' motivation ahead of today's rescheduled encounter against second-to-last Humble Lion at Effortville in Clarendon.

However, Alvin Shaw, coach at the four-time league champions, made it absolutely clear that there is no room for complacency and that his team is fully committed to returning to west Kingston with all three points, a result that would take them level with Waterhouse on 25 points at the summit.

"We are looking beyond Sunday," Shaw said. "The guys are pretty motivated towards the entire season and we are hoping that we can keep it at that level. You never know what will happen at the end of the season, so you just have to try and accumulate as much points as possible."

No wins

Humble Lion have yet to record a win against their visitors, losing all three previous encounters by an aggregate score of 7-2. However, Shaw is aware that the hosts, who have only lost once in their last five outings (that loss coming at the hands of league-leading Waterhouse in the last round), will be desperate to put in a good showing in front of their home supporters.

"Despite Humble Lion being at the bottom of the table, we know that they will be prepared to give us a competitive game, so we are not going there to take them lightly. At the end of the day, the three points are very important," Shaw said.

Tivoli Gardens, who last won the DPL title in the 2008-2009 season may also be without summer signee Devon Hodges, who strained a muscle during their last game, as well as ace striker Navion Boyd, who continues on the sidelines after injuring his shoulder recently.

Meanwhile, Humble Lion coach Lenworth Hyde Sr, the man who led Tivoli Gardens to their last DPL success, underlined the importance of securing all three points as his team look to improve on their nine points and 11th place. A win will carry the Clarendon team to 12 points and 10th place, a target Hyde Sr is desperate to achieve.

Second to last

"We are second to last in the table, so every point is important right now. We lost the last game we played at home, that should be enough motivation because we have to start winning games at home," Hyde Sr said.

The tactician noted that he has seen some real improvements since his arrival to the club in the middle of October, but believes that there is still a lot of work to be done, particularly in the psychological department.

"They are now more composed and relaxed on the ball. They did not have the confidence and we have been working on that. They are good players but they lacked confidence, they don't think that they can win this league, they were satisfied with just being in the league," Hyde Sr added. "We are bringing a new thinking and now there is belief among them that they can go all the way and even finish in the top six."

Game on

• Humble Lion vs Tivoli at Effortville - 3 p.m.