Super confident Wellington steers Tivoli in right direction
Rodico Wellington earned a precious point for Tivoli Gardens in their desperate chase for a play-off spot in the Jamaica Premier League, when he converted a second-half penalty against league leaders Dunbeholden FC on Sunday.
Trailing at half-time to a header from the league’s top scorer Atapharoy Bygrave, the West Kingston-based team knew that a point was minimum requirement to stay in touch with the other teams around them and they we able to call on recent events to motivate themselves.
“Tivoli is a team over the years, first round nothing and second round and third round we always come out on top; so that is something natural for us.
“At half-time we said that we had to come out and get one early goal because in the game against Harbour View, we were down 3-nil, and we came back 3-all, so 1-nil is a natural thing for us to get back,” said Wellington.
With less than 15 minutes left in the game, Tivoli were awarded a penalty and the veteran player showed nerves of steel to send the experienced Damion Hyatt in the Dunbeholden goal the wrong way to make it 1-1 in the 77th minute.
It was just the third goal of the season for the striker but something that came naturally for him he said.
“The penalty is a natural thing for me. I am never nervous in a dead ball situation, so I come out and execute for my team.”
Tivoli Gardens spent just about a week in the sixth position before they were bumped down to seventh spot following their stalemate and a win for Harbour View over Portmore United. However, Wellington believes that once they cement themselves in a playoff spot, their rivals will have a hard time unseating them.
“That’s our aim, because we came third last season and we are struggling to get into the top six, but once we are in there, there is problem.”
He believes that the balance in the squad will be enough to make a play-off run possible.
“We have a lot of experience in the team with youngsters, so it’s a good blend.”
At the end of match week 17, Tivoli Gardens are now in seventh place on 22 points, one point behind sixth place Harbour View. Both teams have a goal difference of +2.
— Dwayne Richards
