Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer
SPANISH TOWN:
A BRACE by Jermaine Richards carried Constant Spring to a come from behind 3-2 victory over Rivoli in their Wray and Nephew National Premier League encounter yesterday afternoon.
The match, which was played before a packed Prison Oval pavilion, saw both teams playing good football.
It was Rivoli who scored first, in the 10th minute when Devon Hodges beat his marker and drove home a shot. Rivoli continued to pile on the pressure and were duly rewarded in the 36th minute when Damion Gordon latched onto a pass and scored, making it two goals to nil.
The first half ended that way but on the resumption, Constant Spring came into their own and started to pressure the Rivoli defence and flooded the area with a number of players.
They scored their first goal in the 53rd minute after Shawn Hunter blasted a shot from 30 yards that beat the goalkeeper to reduce the scoreline to 2-1.
DEFENSIVE PLAY
The Rivoli team started to play defensively and Constant Spring pressured them with the likes of Oneil Morrison, Fabian Coke, Hunter and Richards.
In the 57th minute Richards scored the first of his two goals by outrunning his marker then beat the goalkeeper with a left-footed shot. He doubled his tally in the 69th minute after collecting a pass and dribbled through the Rivoli defence before scoring.
Calvert Fitzgerald, Rivoli's coach, said his team lost because they only played half the match.
"We played the first 45 minutes and from thereon we believed we had the match and started to play negatively and Constant Spring capitalized."
Danny Lyn of Constant Spring said that it was a tactical manoeuvre why his team won.
"We basically invest in some young players and with the return of Oneil Morrison and Fabian Coke, things worked well for us. We gave Rivoli the first 45 minutes. However, with two goals down we had nothing to lose."
The win moved Constant Spring to 20 points, while Rivoli remain on 17.
GOALSHEET
Rivoli 2
Devon Hodges 10th, Damion Gordon 36th
Constant Spring 3
Shawn Hunter 53rd, Jermaine Richards 57th, 69th
