MBU out of playoffs despite win

by

April 08, 2024

Photo

Tivoli Gardens’ Alton Lewis gets angry with the officials during the match.

Montego Bay United’s (MBU) Daniel Reid (forefront) dribbles away from Tivioli Gardens’ Richard Brown during yesterday’s Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League football match at the Montego Bay Sports Complex. MBU won 2-1.

Montego Bay United’s Daniel Reid (centre) celebrates with his teammates Brian Brown (left) and Jourdain Fletcher after scoring their second goal.

Montego Bay United's (MBU) journey in the J. Wray and Nephew-sponsored Jamaica Premier League ended yesterday despite securing a 2-1 victory over Tivoli Gardens at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in Montego Bay.

MBU were facing a must-win situation going into the match yesterday to advance to the playoffs but also needed Waterhouse to draw or lose against Harbour View. Both MBU and Waterhouse were locked on 40 points for the sixth and final playoffs spot, but Waterhouse had a superior goal difference.

Waterhouse, however, secured a 1-0 victory to advance on difference as they ended with 43 points, like Montego Bay, whose strong push in the latter stages of the preliminary round, which included winning their last five games, was not enough to lift them above seventh.

According to coach Neider Dos Santos of MBU, it was a fantastic second round.

"Unfortunately, today it didn't go our way. We did our job to win our match, a difficult match. We had five wins in a row and 10 matches unbeaten, so I congratulate the players. It is hard to get in that chase," Dos Santos said.

NEXT SEASON

"Now everybody has to rest and look at what we will do for the next season. In the first round, we had six points behind Dunbeholden, four points behind Waterhouse and two points behind Vere. That catch was very tight, but we held the pressure and bought into the idea," he added.

Jerome Waite, Tivoli Gardens' coach, said MBU were on a mission in the game.

"MoBay came here purposeful, knowing they can reach the top six. They pushed the game to us, we made errors and they executed from those opportunities," Waite said.

"As for not securing the automatic semi-final spot, this is something that we looked forward to at the start of the season.

"We would love to be a part of the first two, but we will have two extra games to play. We will have to focus on our injured players and get ready for the playoffs," he added.

ON EDGE

The anticipated football match had the crowd on edge from start to finish.

MBU's Owayne Gordon set the tone with a goal in the 37th minute. MBU's Daniel Reid doubled the lead in the 50th minute, however, Tivoli Garden's Justin Dunn grabbed a goal in the 83rd minute.

In the first half, Gordon, from an attacking play struck the ball in the net to give MBU a 1-0 lead.

With a golden opportunity to take advantage of a penalty, MBU failed to convert. They, however, made up for that error when Reid, with a beautiful backheel kick, struck the ball in the net to give MBU a 2-0 lead.

Awarded a penalty, Dunn pulled back a goal for Tivoli in the 83rd minute.

Meanwhile, Cavalier with a 6-0 win against Molynes United, clinched second place in the points standing and joined defending champions Mount Pleasant Academy as the automatic qualifiers for the semi-finals.