Sport

Tivoli pocket big bonus

By AINSLEY WALTERS, Staff Reporter

Waterhouse's Shane Edwards (left) tries to control the ball while Arnett Gardens' Marlon Benbow moves in to tackle during a penultimate round match in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday. Edwards scored but his team lost 2-1. - Carlington Wilmot

TIVOLI GARDENS finally got their $1m bonus money yesterday after a 1-0 own-goal win against Constant Spring. The league-leaders' away victory pushed them to 67 unassailable points, five clear of fellow semi-finalists Harbour View in the penultimate round of Wray and Nephew Premier League preliminaries.

Harbour View, who booted Rivoli out of the semi-final race with a 2-1 win at Compound, are on 62 points and will next turn their attention to holding off defending champions Portmore for the $700,000 preliminary runners-up money before the semis kick-off.

Portmore (59) joined Tivoli and Harbour View in the semis with a 3-0 win at Invaders and are three points behind Harbour View heading into the preliminaries' final fixture this weekend.

Double strike

A second-half double from Roen Nelson added to Oneil 'Chippy' McDonald's first-half goal at the Elliston Wakeland Centre.

Elsewhere around the Corporate Area yesterday, Arnett Gardens finally beat Waterhouse off Kevin Wilson's double strike for a 2-1 win, keeping Kenneth 'Bop' Campbell's side on 53 points.

Village, locked in a battle for the final spot with Waterhouse, eased their worries with a 4-0 victory over Seba to move to 56 points.

At Compound, defender Christopher Harvey scored in first-half stoppage time and returned in the 80th to cancel Derrick Planter's 71st minute equaliser.

Harvey's goals were off set-pieces, first slamming in a free-kick, which goalie Dennis Clayton found too hot to handle and could only watch as the ball kicked from 19 yards careened off his attempted block and spun into goal at the far post.

After Planter buried Mobi Oparaku's cross from the left past Leeroy Grey to tie things up, Harvey broke Rivoli's heart and semi-final ambitions by outjumping their defence at the back post to nod in Craig Stewart's free-kick from the right side of the box.

The result kept Rivoli on 50 points, three behind Waterhouse and six behind Village, with a measly goal difference of eight to boot. Not even losses for either team would help Bradley Stewart's side this coming Sunday.

Harbour View ended with 10 men after wing-back Robert Scarlett was ejected on two yellow cards two minutes from time but coach Donovan Hayles was satisfied with his team's play.

"We want to maintain the rhythm of the team going into the semi-finals," he told STAR Sports. "They played well throughout but what we need to improve on is stopping teams scoring on us," said the Harbour View coach, looking towards the semi-finals.

"We also have to improve on our strike rate," he added. "We miss too many chances before scoring one."