'A lead is a lead'

Bailey remains positive despite Tivoli losing ground

Anthony Minott, Gleaner Writer

Leaders Tivoli Gardens slipped up after a 0-0 draw with Portmore United and saw their lead diminish to three points, following their Digicel Premier League football game at the Ferdie Neita Park in Braeton on Sunday.

Tivoli inched to 65 points, while title-chasing Boys' Town remained in the hunt with a 2-1 win over Village United at home and are now on 62 points. With three games left, nervous feelings could be in the Tivoli camp.

The West Kingston team, for the most part of the game, didn't play with much urgency, even when Portmore United were reduced to 10 men in the 39th minute, as defender Richard Allen was sent off for a second bookable offence.

He accidentally kicked Tivoli's forward Navion Boyd in the face during a tackle near the touchline.

Three minutes earlier, Portmore should have taken the lead when their top striker, Steven Morrissey, missed the target from close range as his header went inches wide.

The second half saw a slight improvement in mobility up front for Tivoli as they introduced Owen Powell and Shawn McKoy into their attack.

But it was Kemar Flemmings who almost snatched all three points for Tivoli - on the stroke of full time - but his shot from inside the 18-yard box was blocked by goalie Demetrio Brown.

Tivoli's coach, Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, who was quite vocal from the bench throughout the match, said that disciplinary problems before the game spilled over into their performance on the field.

Came out flat

"Leading up to the game, a little indiscipline and 'bad vibes' kind of crept in, and we just tried to get them focused and motivated for the game, but they still came out flat. We didn't play like we really needed this game," Bailey said after the match.

He added: "We came away with a point, the big thing is that we didn't lose the game. A point away is always better. Although, in a situation like this, with Boys' Town racing down on our backs and they (Boys' Town) won today (Sunday), it just adds more pressure on us. We still have the lead, it has trimmed down somewhat, but a lead is a lead. We just have to go on the drawing board see where we went wrong and correct them and come back again."

Assistant coach of Portmore, Jeffrey Hewitt, said: "We think we are a better team than the position we are in right now, and what better way to prove it than against the league leaders, Tivoli? We had a game plan, and we had to throw it through the window because of the red card we conceded. I thought the players soldiered on with 10 men and put in a creditable performance."