Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
TIVOLI GARDENS and Boys' Town go into today's second legs of the first round Wray and Nephew Knockout football competition with the edge over Village United and Portmore United respectively.
Of the two games Tivoli, who take on Village at 6:00 p.m., are expected to have the easier day as, with a three-goal advantage and playing at home, it will take more than Village appear to have to overtake them.
Village coach Dr. Dean Weatherly understandably is not looking to the game with the greatest enthusiasm.
"It (a victory for Village) is a tall task, but not impossible," Weatherly said. "In the last game the odds were against us in that we had just returned from a hectic tour. We had no training session ahead of the game and the players appeared tired. Even with that though, in both halves at times we had greater possession but lost concentration at vital times," he continued, adding that with the benefit of training "anything could happen as it is a game of football."
With the likes of Fabian Dawkins, Teofore Bennett, Jeff Pearce, Eddie Kingston and Ian McAnuff unavailable, Tivoli Gardens will have to play poorly or Village United would have to raise their game significantly for the Trelawny team to advance. That is not likely to happen as Tivoli Gardens are intent on achieving one of their pre-season goals of ending the season with two trophies.
Despite Tivoli's huge win, coach Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey was not satisfied. The poor field, he said, affected their play. With their home surface more conducive to their brand of football, Village United should be on the defensive early.
Influencial midfielder Fabian Davis, who did not play on Sunday, for fear of reinjuring himself on the hard surface, should return along with Roland Dean.
At Ferdie Neita Park in the 3:30 fixture, Portmore United are expected to put up a much tougher fight against the overachieving Boys' Town who hold a narrow 1-0 advantage. In their four previous meetings for the season, Boys' Town have won twice while two were drawn.
In Kevin Deerr, Mario Swaby, Rafe and Kemeel Wolfe, Portmore United have players who can turn a match. With their ability and home-ground advantage, a win is not beyond them. Boys' Town, if they are to maintain their lead and progress, will rely on Sunday's goalscorer Michael Campbell, George Vernal, Denzil Watson and Oneil Thompson.
