Precious JPL point for Molynes

AFTER suffering back-to-back defeats ,Molynes United collected their first point in three Jamaica Premier League (JPL) games following a 0-0 draw against Tivoli Gardens at the Stadium East field yesterday.

The first half of the game was played in fairly hot conditions and both teams failed to produce many goalscoring chances. The only clear-cut chance fell to Molynes United’s Mickel Graham in the fourth minute but, despite finding himself one-on-one with Tivoli Gardens custodian Diego Haughton, he failed to convert.

In the second half, there were more scoring opportunities, as the conditions became more favourable for both teams. It was Molynes who came close again, this time through Taraj Andrews whose header in the 54th minute lacked enough power to get beyond goalkeeper Haughton.

Tivoli Gardens’ Anthony Nelson was then gifted a glorious opportunity four minutes later, but a rushed effort sent his shot, from inside the box, over the bar. As Molynes continued to press for their first goal in three games, Jhanni Flemmings’ powerful shot hit the crossbar in the 61st minute. In the final 10 minutes of play, both teams traded goalscoring chances as Tivoli’s Horatio Morgan’s right-footed effort from inside the box was superbly saved by Molynes’ Carlos Robinson. Then, in the 87th minute, Molynes United’s Jaheim Harris came very close to getting the three points for his team but he was denied by the crossbar.

In his post-game review, Molynes head coach Jermaine Thomas shared that, while he’s disappointed that the team couldn’t convert one of their chances, he was pleased to walk away with a point. He added that, defensively, the team was also much better than in previous games.

“It’s the same old story. We’re creating opportunities but not scoring but we’re coming off back-to-back defeats. So, getting a point on the day, we have to be grateful. It’s back to the training ground as we should have converted some of the chances. We were much better and they played together, communicated right through, and I think that made the difference,” Thomas said.

Tivoli Gardens head coach Jerome Waite stated that his opponents, on the day, were much better than his team.

“We didn’t turn up, and Molynes were the better team from start to finish. As the coach, I’ll have to see what we could have done better. This team has only won one game so far and it doesn’t look good on our part. We just have to continue working and see how we can find the right chemistry,” Waite said.

orane.buchanan@gleanerjm.com