TIVOLI Gardens staved off the charging Boys’ Town and captured their fifth lien on the Digicel Premier League (DPL) with a hard-fought 1-0 win at the Edward Seaga Stadium yesterday.

Meanwhile, St George’s Sports Club of Portland joined Benfica as the second relegated team after playing to a tame 0-0 draw with Sporting Central Academy at Lynch Park.

St George’s finished with 46 points, the same as Humble Lion, but were edged out on the head-to-head tie-breaker.

In the other games, Harbour View edged Portmore United 1-0; Reno clipped Arnett Gardens 1-0; Humble Lion whipped Benfica 7-0 and Waterhouse and Village battled to a 0-0 draw.

National striker Navion Boyd scored arguably his most important goal of the season, striking in time added in the first half to secure victory.

Boyd collected a ball on the edge of the box and turned brilliantly before firing home a low left-footer past goalkeeper Kirk Porter in the 45th minutes.

It was the 11th goal of the season for Boyd, putting him joint third on the goalscoring chart behind Arnett Gardens’ Kirk Ramsey on 17 and Craig Foster of Reno on 15.

Tivoli Gardens, who started the day with a one-point lead, finished with 72 points, four ahead of second-placed Boys’ Town on 68 points.

The West Kingston-based team, which had previously won in 1982/83, 1998/99, 2003/04, 2008/09, walked away with a whopping $2.5-m first prize money.

The DPL champions are also in the running to win the $1-m prize money being offered for the Flow Champions Cup All-Island Knockout tournament where they will play the relegated St George’s of Portland.

Second-placed Boys’ Town will pocket $1.5m for their relentless chase of Tivoli Gardens and will have to wait another year for their first title since the 1988/89 season, a waiting period similar to that of another team wearing red — Liverpool of England.

Winning coach Glendon ‘Admiral’ Bailey, who won for the second time with Tivoli Gardens following the 2003/04 campaign, was soaked from head to toe with water and couldn’t contain his happiness.

“It is a pleasant wet, a great wet, a joyous wet,” said an ecstatic Bailey, as the Tivoli Gardens faithful were wildly celebrating with the blowing of horns, clattering of pot covers and anything they could get their hands on.

Bailey, who is moiré popularly known for his entertaining skills as a deejay, had just returned from a self-imposed hiatus from football.

“It is a good feeling and why it is so good, because I took a break for two and a half years then I returned with glory, so I feel good. I must confess that I left the island on Friday without anybody knowing, as I had a show last night (Saturday). Is this morning I fly back,” revealed Bailey.

“Winning at home and sharing with everyone is a joy. We just have to give thanks that it is our homeground and we defended our turf,” said Bailey.

“I must congratulate Andrew Price and the Boys’ Town team because I think he did a marvellous job. They are a very good-spirited team and that comes off his character,” he added.

Meanwhile, Boys’ Town’s coach Price, who last played when the ‘Red Brigade’ won their last title, was clearly disappointed, but took it in stride.

“We came up a little bit short… we have been lacking goals in our campaign as we have no proven goalscorers, but I think we did remarkable well to have closed the lead from nine points to one going in the final game and got the opportunity to challenge for the title,” Price noted.

“It was a very good effort from my team and I must compliment my team. I think they did extremely well,” said Price.

“Congratulations to Tivoli Gardens because I always believe that in a league format, consistency must be rewarded and they must be congratulated for the consistent way in which they played the premier league. They gave us a good run for our money and we will be back next year,” he promised.

In front of a packed venue, the game failed to live up to the hype expected of a final showdown, but it seemed nerves got the better of both teams, hence the poor quality of play.

In-form Boys’ Town, who had won six of the last seven games, didn’t turn up with their fluent, attacking football, and despite a few half chances, never looked like pulling it off.

Credit must also go to Tivoli Gardens for not allowing the ‘Red Brigade’ to play and in the end are deserved champions.

Teams:

Tivoli Gardens — Edsel Scott, Kasai Hinds, Victor Thompson, Lennox Wright, Christopher Jackson, Kemar Flemmings, Raymond Williamson, Kaemmar Daley (Nackwayne Parchment 90th), Navion Boyd (Shawn McKoy 88th), Roland Dean (Jameel Thompson 64th), Owen Powell. Subs not used: Leon Gordon, Valentine Gardener, Steve Green, Jeffrey Grant. Booked: Wright (13th), Daley (55th), Jameel Thompson (73rd).

Boys’ Town — Kirk Porter, Romondo Johnson, Asrick Samuels, Xavean Virgo (Anthony Dawes 54th), Daemion Benjamin, Oneil Thompson, Michael Campbell, Jameil Hardware (Renae Lloyd 57th), Anthony Bennett, Marvin Morgan, Fabian Francis (Shane Edwards 76th). Subs not used: Philmore Crumbie, Dean Thompson, Nathan Wyatt. Booked: Francis (24th), Dawes (68th), Lloyd (90th). Referee: Kevin Morrison Assistant Referees: Ricardo Morgan, Stacey-Ann Greyson Fourth Official: Kevin Thomas Match Commissary: Horace Lewis