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‘We needed these points more than MoBay’ - Tivoli’s Waite on high after team secures JPL playoff spot
May 05, 2025
Tivoli Gardens Football Club's coach Jerome Waite was full of praise for his team's defending, after they held out with 10 men for over 20 minutes in a 2-1 win over Montego Bay United FC at the Edward Seaga Sports Complex to secure the sixth and final playoff spot yesterday in the Jamaica Premier League.
Tivoli Gardens FC and Waterhouse FC, who defeated Dunbeholden FC 2-0 on the day, ended the regular season with 58 points each. But Tivoli were 11 goals better than their rivals.
The defeat for MoBay means they dropped to third and out of the automatic semi-final slot and into the quarter-finals, which is scheduled to start on Thursday.
Johann Weatherly fired MoBay United in front in the 11th minute. But Nickalia Fuller equalised with a penalty in the 36th minute and Lennox Russell sealed the win with a 40th-minute goal.
In the 72nd minute, Tivoli were reduced to 10 players when Russell was given a straight red card for verbally abusing the assistant referee.
MoBay United tried desperately to make their one-man advantage count, but found Tivoli's no-nonsense defending tough to break down.
DEFENSIVE ORGANISATION
"The defensive organisation was excellent. Tivoli won every first, second and third ball, and today it was Tivoli's day," Waited contended.
"It is one of those games you can talk about, especially defensively. After losing a player, we stuck to the task and really defended stoutly.
"It wasn't an easy game. We started a bit slow and we went down 1-0. But the Tivoli team didn't panic. We stepped it up eventually, and when we got the penalty things changed," Waite explained.
"(In the) second half we came out gunning because we needed these three points more than MoBay. We were on the fence looking in and we knew we had to win this game, which they did and we are looking forward to great things," he said.
MoBay United's coach Paul Davis was not totally disappointed at ending the regular season with a loss, and losing the automatic semi-final spot in the process.
"Maybe it's a blessing in disguise. Maybe we get to play more games and get that momentum going into the semi-finals," Davis said.
"We will play them again on Thursday, and we know what to do. We just have to go and do it," he said.
RELEGATED
Meanwhile, after 16 straight seasons in the top flight, the community of Effortville will not have JPL football next term, after Humble Lion were relegated following a 4-0 defeat to Mount Pleasant Football Academy. They join another Clarendon team, Vere Phoenix United, as the demoted teams this season.
Mount Pleasant FA, who still have a players' eligibility case before the Jamaica Football Federation competitions committee and Concacaf pending, finished atop the standings on 93 points. Arnett took second place with 76 points. Both teams secured the automatic semi-final berths.
MoBay United ended in third on 75 points, Cavalier fourth with 68 and Portmore United fifth on 66 points.
MoBay United and Tivoli are slated to face off in one quarter-final, while Portmore and Cavalier will meet in the other, on Thursday.
