3 months ago
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TIVOLI GARDENS coach Jerome Waite was left a frustrated figure after his team’s exit from the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) playoffs at Sabina Park on Monday.
Tivoli’s exit paved the way for Montego Bay United to set up tomorrow’s semi-final date with Mount Pleasant Football Academy.
Brian Brown gave MoBay the lead four minutes from the end, but Malik Cockings scored in added time for Tivoli.
The 1-1 finish wasn’t enough, with MoBay advancing 3-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 win in the first leg.
Tivoli ended the game with nine players after goalkeeper Nicholas Clarke (74th) and forward Lennox Russell (82nd) were red-carded,
and Waite, who has been critical of the officiating in the JPL all season, vented his frustration at what he thinks is referees deciding the outcome of games.
“We fought fairly well. The game ended 1-1, but we lost [the tie] by a single goal. But I would like to know, what is it that everybody has against Tivoli Gardens?” he stated.
“You watched the first game, where the referee determined what transpired. As a result of that, the same boy (Demario Phillips) who got the man-of-the-match now shouldn’t even been playing. And football is not going to change unless we step up and take charge.
“It must be frustrating. You have a lot of things to iron out. These referees, they have to step up. You cannot be determining games from the first leg.”
The incident Waite is referring to took place in Friday’s first leg at Stadium East, where a nasty tackle from Phillips could have arguably resulted in a red card. Phillips’ tackle was studs up and high and could have seriously damaged his opponent.
Waite believes that Phillips’ ‘slap on the wrist’ was an injustice against his team and calls on the national federation to take a greater role in protecting the integrity of the game.
“You watch games and see how much time referees decide games. What I spoke to, in particular, is who won the man-of-the-match award today. He shouldn’t be in the game based on what he did in the last game. We all saw it. Still, Waite admitted that the red cards on Monday night came from the indiscipline of his players.
Clarke was ejected immediately after saving Jourdain Fletcher’s penalty for physically engaging the referee. Russell got a second yellow after a late challenge on goalkeeper Davonnie Burton.
Clarke, especially, was out of control after his ejection and ranted and fumed for several minutes in protest.
Waite also didn’t neglect to praise his team for turning around what initially seemed a mediocre season.
“I think we have done well to reach this far. A lot of people had written off the team before we even finished the third round. And we had to win the final game to reach where we are at, and it was against the same MoBay United team,” he said.
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