TIVOLI Gardens had to come from behind to hold Meadforest to a 1-1 draw in the opening Zone A match of the Claro Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Champions Cup at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.

Antonio McIntosh gave Meadforest a stunning 16th-minute lead with a tremendous 35-metre volley that is already a favourite for the goal of the year award.

Former Harbour View and August Town striker Mitchily Waul then earned a share of the points for Tivoli Gardens with a cool finish in the 36th minute.

At press time, Vincent Earle had given Waterhouse a 1-0 lead over home team Arnett Gardens in the feature encounter of the double-header.

Fans at the venue were disappointed by the performance of defending Premier League champions Tivoli Gardens against little-known Meadforest, who are the KSAFA Syd Bartlett champions and are lying three divisions below.

But Tivoli Gardens, who play three division higher than Meadforest, used the opening game to look at a number of players with the hope of signing a few for the upcoming Premier League campaign.

Assistant coach Alvin Shaw, deputising for the injured Glendon “Admiral” Bailey, who apparently damaged his knee in a freak accident last Wednesday, said he was fairly pleased with what he saw.

Said Shaw: “Most of the players who went out today are on trial, but it wasn’t a bad performance and a number of them I’m interested in taking a second look at…”

Of the lot that turned out for Tivoli Gardens, only Waul, Jermaine Ricketts, Dwayne Holmes, formerly of St Georges SC, and Valentine Gardener of Rivoli United are familiar names.

“As the competition progresses you will see a few more of the players that played today and I will be strengthening the team for the games that are ahead,” said Shaw.

Shaw went on to say he was impressed with about six players, including the lively Luis Torres of Belize who came on in the second half.

“Technically he is an excellent player. I have been talking to him because what I want him to do is understand the system and the tempo at which the game is played here in Jamaica. He is a player with a lot of flair, but I think he need a little more aggregation,” revealed Shaw.

But little-known Meadforest were not overawed by their more illustrious opponents and gave a decent performance and could even have created a massive upset.

Goalscorer McIntosh, Richard Brown, Orlando Brown, Yannick Parks, David Reid and centre-half Andrew Peddie acquitted themselves well and could cause problems for both Arnett gardens and Waterhouse.

The competition continues today with defending champions Harbour View tackling Cavalier at 2:30 pm in the curtain-raiser at Collie Smith Drive, before Boys’ Town take on Greenwich Town in Zone B action.