Latest News
Waterhouse wary of Tivoli
April 09, 2024
On Sunday, Waterhouse FC defeated rivals Harbour View to clinch the final play-offs spot in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), booking a quarter-final date with cross-town rivals Tivoli Gardens in the process.
Waterhouse's assistant coach and former Tivoli midfielder Damion Gordon is wary of his quarter-final opponents, as he believes in that stage of the competition, they have probably the toughest team to break down, even though he thinks they can be equally devastating on their day.
"We are in the playoffs, and we just have to get them (players) together in terms of being focused and concentrated on the job at hand. Our objectives must be clear, and we must be able to execute because Tivoli are not easy to break down, so we will have to make sure we take our chances.
"It is going to be a very difficult game. Tivoli do not give you much. If we create, we must take those chances, as what has been hampering us is taking them, and we must fix that," he said.
Even though there are things to work on, Gordon is convinced they have the quality to beat any team.
"It's a playoff over two legs, and we have quality players. We must make sure we command the game," he said.
"We have our objectives, and it is to be able to execute because it is a very difficult team, but on any given day, this Waterhouse team can be a monster in terms of our game, so we just have to play our game," he said.
However, one aspect of their game he believes they must improve before the play-off tie is their consistency over the game's duration.
"The performance can be more consistent. The results in the last four games have been good. It is just the performance over 90 minutes (that's lacking). I don't think we did exceptionally over 90 minutes.
"It gives us something to work on, and once we can realise that and fix it going into the playoffs, we should be alright," Gordon said.
Waterhouse finished sixth in the JPL points standing after two rounds of preliminary matches. They ended that stage of the competition with 43 points, the same as seventh-place Montego Bay, but had a better goal difference. Tivoli finished the preliminary round in third on 51 points.
Last season, Waterhouse just missed out on the playoffs after losing points for using an ineligible player in their last game of the season.
