St Catherine Super League champions Rivoli United received a timely boost in confidence on Wednesday when they defeated the Reggae Boyz 2-1 in a practice game at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

Rivoli United last played in the Premier League in the 2015-2016 season, and with the play-offs set to begin on June 11, this win could not have come at a better time.A delighted Anthony Thompson is happy for the motivation that the win will provide for his squad as they hunt one of the two qualification spots that will take them back to top flight football.“This win will motivate them and this can push them and let them know we have something to play for — we want to look like the best team,” he said.Thompson hailed the performance of striker Nicholas Nelson who came off the bench to score the two goals for his team, and suggested that a national call up should be on the cards for the player.“I am pleased with the performance of Nicholas Nelson. Those are the type of people that maybe the national team should have to look at. He capitalised and he scored, and the things that he did speaks to his quality. When he got the ball he kept it, he passed it, he dribbled with it well; he always did the right thing,” Thompson outlined.While Nelson came in for special praise, Thompson was also pleased with the overall performance of his team.“It was a rounded team performance. Rivoli is a team that when they get a task, they live up to it. When they get something hard, they are equal to it. It was a motivation today to play the national team and to see the level that we have reached.”While many people may be surprised by the performance of the Rivoli team and the result they were able to achieve, their coach suggested that this was par for the course, based on the season they have just had.“This is the type of performance we saw right through the Super League, which has led to us being unbeaten in 17 matches. We lost the first two games of the season using under-20 players, but after we hit our stride we won 17 straight and this win (against Boyz) makes 18 straight matches we have won.”The result on Wednesday provided motivation not only for the players, but for the coach as well, who is convinced that he and his team are once again ready to mix it up with the big boys.“Rivoli is ready to return to the Red Stripe Premier League.” he declared. “All we had to do was to deal with this hurdle (playing against the Reggae Boyz), and we did that.”For Thompson and his coaching staff, the play-off preparations will now begin in earnest.“Now I will assess the players and see who we want from who we don’t want. But the majority of these players will still be used to secure Premier League qualification,” he advised.— Dwayne Richards