Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor
Tivoli Gardens' striker Horace Howell (left) and Seba United's Venton Evans hold each other while challenging for the ball during the Wray and Nephew National Premier League football match at Edward Seaga Sports Complex yesterday. Howell scored once in Tivoli's 4-0 win. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
SOMEONE HAD to pay. Too bad for Seba United they were next up on the Wray and Nephew National Premier League roster for Tivoli Gardens.
Not even the absence of five regular starters, plus a red card to Oraine Simpson at the 60th minute for a second bookable offence, mattered as a rampaging Christopher Nicholas ran riot to slam in a hat-trick and lead the way in Tivoli's 4-0 spanking of the MoBay team, at Edward Seaga Stadium yesterday.
At midweek, the Garden team was nailed 4-1 in a derby with long-time rivals from neigh-bouring Arnett Gardens and an accumulation of cards by several players rendered five of them unplayable for the Seba match-up.
"After doing so badly at Arnett we knew we had to show up and play today," Tivoli's coach Glendon "Admiral" Bailey said. "The team showed up and played and it happened."
CREATING CHANCES
Bailey, whose team moved into a two-way tie on 13 points with Arnett Gardens whose away fixture at Wadadah in MoBay was postponed, added: "We played as a unit and moved the ball around today and when you do that you will create chances.
"Today we capitalised on our chances. In some of the games we were getting the chances, but not scoring."
They now occupy fourth place, owing to an inferior goal difference to Arnett. Waterhouse lie second on 14 points, while Harbour View stretched their lead to 18 points with 2-0 home win over Rivoli United in the night game at Compound. Gregory Simpson (60th) and Lovel Palmer (75th pen.) scored for the Stars of the East.
NICHOLAS SHOW
For the first half hour and with the game still goalless, it appeared the as if Tivoli Gardens would have problems making up for the deficiency of basically half their regular 11.
That was until Nicholas opened his show to break the deadlock at the 32nd minute. He would add to his and his team's tally again at the 60th and 85th minutes, rounding off a deserving triple for a hard evening's work.
"I feel very, very very good about this, it's 4-0 and I scored three goals. We had a number of players out and we were coming off a bad loss. That's where leadership comes in, I knew something had to be done," exclaimed the regular national invitee Nicholas, who has also represented the country at the Under-20 Youth World Cup.
Horace Howell scored Tivoli's other goal seconds from the half-time interval, giving them much-needed insurance for two-goal cushion.
It was all downhill for Seba from that point and their coach, former top notch national striker Paul 'Tegat' Davis, says the promoted team needs to step up.
"I don't think this team wake-up yet, knowing they're in the premier league," pointed out Davis, whose team is in a three-way tie with Constant Spring and Wadadah at the bottom of the points table on four.
"It's going to take more running and more concentration. We've to realise it's seasoned teams in the premier league we're playing against. We've to just try and find the energy."
