Defeated Boys' Town accept; ready to 'wheel and come again'

Jermaine Lannaman, Gleaner Writer

They sat in despair, some with their hands on their heads, some with their heads hung low and some just looking into empty space.

This was the mood of the players, starters and reserves, who sat and stood in the vicinity of the Boys' Town players' bench moments after the end of their epic final-round Digicel Premier League (DPL) clash with Tivoli Gardens at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex yesterday.

It was a game that Boys' Town - trailing by a point heading into the clash - needed to win if they were to take the title and end their 21-year DPL title drought.

But lo and behold, it was not to be as, thanks to a 45th-minute wonder strike from forward Navion Boyd, Tivoli were able to secure a 1-0 win, much to the dismay of Boys' Town players, coaching and management staff and spectators.

"Having won four from four coming into the game, it's a bit unfortunate that we could not pull it off," said Boys' Town's influential midfielder, Oneil 'Bigga' Thomp-son, who stood with a water bottle in hand, as Tivoli's players danced and pranced on the field.

"It's just one of those things. Tivoli were always favoured to come out on top given the statistics heading into the game, and they came out here today and fought.

"It's a bitter pill to swallow, but hats off to them, they stuck to their game plan of getting a goal and then getting behind the ball and defending," he added.

Another Boys' Town player, 18-year-old Marvin Morgan Jr, who along with Thompson played key roles in them having a shot at the title, was at a loss for words.

"I can't say much right now as the way how I feel is like I am burning up inside," said Morgan.

"We tried our best of going out there to fight, but the result did not go in our favour. Winning would have meant much for the club and the community. It would have brought so much joy to the face of our supporters. But it was not meant to be."

Added Morgan: "It's somewhat pleasing to reach this far as the guys really fought throughout the season. But all we can do right now is just wheel and come again next season."