No room for error in second-leg JPL play-offs

With none of the teams holding an advantage from their first leg 1-1 stalemates, Portmore United, Arnett Gardens, Tivoli Gardens, and Waterhouse will all be looking to book their spot in the semi-finals of the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League play-offs.

The opening match of the second leg quarter-final double header at Sabina Park at 5 pm will see Portmore United taking on Arnett Gardens.

Portmore controlled the first half and forced an own goal from Philando Wing in the first leg, but faded in the second, which saw Arnett score a late equaliser through Captain Fabian Reid.

Though impressed with his team’s opening 45 minutes, Portmore Head Coach Philip Williams wants a more clinical performance.

“We have to still be cautious, there are 90 minutes to be played,” he said. “We have a game plan that we have been working on so we won’t be abandoning that game plan but it’s a game that we need a result from and it’s about executing what is practised on the training pitch on the day. The objective before the season was to go all the way, so we’re confident in our preparation, we have some areas work out — one is managing the duration of the press and most importantly, conversion of chances created.”

Arnett Head Coach Xavier Gilbert is hoping his team will be sharper after a slow start in the first leg.

“We’re going to do as best as we can to see if we can get the [win] so if it needs major adjustments, so be it,” he said. “[We’ll] look at what we have, some of the things we did well, some of the things we need to work on and do just that. If we need to change personnel to get a positive result then so be it. I know they want to make their entire community and fans proud but we have to make sure it’s not too pressuring on them, just come out, enjoy the game, enjoy the moment and deliver then everything will fall into place. As a staff, we have to ensure that their mindset is just to take care of business.”

In the second game of the double header at 8 pm, Tivoli Gardens battle Waterhouse. Tivoli, on the regular season table, proved to be the one of the best teams in the country but needed a second-half equaliser from Lennox Russell after failing to pose a real threat in the first half against the league’s sixth-placed team.

However, Head Coach Jerome Waite says his team has the attacking prowess to advance to the last four.

“This is a team that can score goals and we created chances [last Monday], so any given day and we put away those chances, we’d have been victors but I expect it to be another game and we all must look forward to that game,” he said. “Adjustments will be made. We’ve had one week to prepare for this game and we’re looking for players to rise above expectations.”

Javane Bryan’s penalty was one of the only shots on target for the Drewsland-based club and Head Coach Marcel Gayle wants his team to be more courageous, despite their underdog tag.

“I think we should have been braver when we got Tivoli on the counter,” he said. “I think we were laid-back and relaxed, so if we’re a little more brave, we’d have led. We definitely have to make some adjustments because the first leg, we’d have seen what Tivoli had to offer so now we go back to the drawing board to see how we can get better and improve on and the areas we think we were lacking, we should fix those areas.”

-Daniel Blake

https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2024/04/29/no-room-error-second-leg-jpl-play-offs/