Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter
A SCORCHING first-half onslaught by Tivoli Gardens saw them hammer a powerless Wadadah F.C 4-0 to claim their first victory of the Wray and Nephew National Premier League second round yesterday at Edward Seaga Stadium.
Tivoli took the game to Wadadah from the opening whistle and would reap rewards from their aggressive attacking play as early as the ninth minute.
Christopher Jackson stepped up to a free-kick conceded just outside of the area and curled the ball far away from Wadadah custodian Gavine Barrett to give his team, the early lead.
Wadadah never looked positive going forward in their attacking play or particularly sound defensively.
When Nicholas McCreath side-footed a ball played across the goal from near the touch-line into the back of the net to add another for his team the writing was on the wall.
POWERFUL HEADER
Horace Howell would add yet another, rising from the penalty spot to powerfully head past a rooted Barrett in the 29th minute from a Christopher Nicholas square.
Nicholas the team's leading goalscorer, went on to etch his name on the scoresheet in the 43rd minute from the penalty spot, as he easily slotted home his eighth goal of the season - his third penalty.
Tivoli seemed to take their foot off the gas in the second half and though a few opportunities fell to Nicholas and substitute Roland Dean, they never seemed to go forward with any real conviction.
"In the second half we went a bit wayward but this is expected and whenever you have a big lead, the player's tend to come out complacent," remarked Tivoli Gardens' coach Glendon Bailey.
CONSISTENCY
"But we met our objective which was not to concede any goals, we moved the ball around very well in the first half and now my main concern is working on our consistency overall as a team," he said.
Although they played a better second half, Wadadah never looked sharp in their attacking play and created very few legitimate goalscoring opportunities for the entire game.
" I'm not sure why we had such a bad first half, but I think we came out better in the second half. However, we were already four goals behind and that is always going to be difficult to overcome," said Wadadah's assistant coach, Allan Aarons.
Tivoli Gardens now move up to fourth place in the standings on 22 points, while Wadadah remain in ninth place on 12 points.
GOALSHEET
Tivoli 4
Christopher Jackson 9th, Nicholas McCreath 13th, Horace Howell 29th, Christopher Nicholas 43rd
Wadadah 0
