By Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter 
Geoffrey Maxwell instructing his side yesterday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer
GEOFFREY MAXWELL was uncharacteristically calm throughout the Wray & Nephew National Premier League football match between his team Tivoli and Constant Spring at Railway Oval yesterday but that was because he was certain what the outcome of the game would have been long before the final whistle.
Tivoli played cautiously in the exciting encounter and showed a lot of depth despite the absence of seven of its key players in its 2-1 beating of Constant Spring.
"I was confident they would have won. First games are usually a tense affair but I had a strange feeling of calm from last night and leading up to today (yesterday)," said the former national coach who took over coaching duties at the club this season.
Captain Steve Green scored from a corner kick in the 21st minute to give his team a 1-0 advantage at half time and the most Maxwell did was give the thumbs up sign.
Two minutes into the second half, Raymond Smith slotted the ball into the right corner of the goal from just outside the 18-yard box to make the score 2-0 but his demeanor remained the same.
When Greg Gardner scored for Constant Spring in the 88th minute, the most Maxwell did was issue a few instructions to Green and continued to watch the game pensively.
It was surprisingly difficult to decipher his emotions whenever Tivoli fumbled with its chances, particularly when the opportunities were present for them to increase their score.
"There was no need for me to be shouting and carrying on today. The team has adapted well to training and I am pleased because they did what they were asked to do. I think they could have scored at least four or five goals but that's just football. They executed 80 per cent of the plan and that's good enough," the known taskmaster said.
But this it seems is the calm before the storm as the team has a lot to overcome if they hope to reclaim the title they won in the 1998-99 and 1982-83 seasons.
Tivoli finished fourth in the league last year and will no doubt be looking towards winning the title this season but their immediate goal, Maxwell says is to reach the first mid-season final.
