'I want to leave on a high' - TG star 'Teddy' Johnson

Former Reggae Boy Jermaine 'Teddy' Johnson continues to lead the way for Tivoli Gardens, scoring the early goal in their win against Jamalco to move his tally in the Red Stripe Premier League to 13 goals.

Johnson opened the scoring when he converted a penalty kick in the 10th minute. Elton 'Juice' Thompson sealed the deal with a strike in the 82nd minute as Tivoli won 2-0 at the Edward Seaga Complex yesterday.

It was the west Kingston-based club's first clean sheet since the end of January and just their second win in five games.

Tivoli ended the game with 10 players as their captain, Romaine Brakenridge, was handed a second yellow card and was ejected in the 90th minute by referee Oshane Nation.

Johnson, who is a former Bolton Wanderers player, limped off the field midway the second half due to a leg cramp. However, he said the substitution was precautionary as he did not want to take any chance of causing further damage.

LEG CRAMP

"I had to leave the field because my leg was cramped up. I was just being cautious as I want to play in the next game," Johnson told The Gleaner.

"It is good to get a win for the team after the loss to UWI. The vibe in the camp is still up, so we will take it one game at a time. To be honest, I am getting older and want to leave on a high," the 36-year-old said.

When quizzed as to whether he still had the desire to play for the Reggae Boyz, he responded: "It is not on my mind as the focus is to win with Tivoli. However, if given a call, I will be there."

Coach of Tivoli Omar Edwards says it was good to rebound after the disappointing result against UWI - a 4-0 loss.

"It was a good victory for us as we scored two beautiful goals. The team followed the game plan. Kudos to Teddy and Elton, who are both scoring goals for the team," Edwards said.

Jamalco's Rayon Johnson was, of course, not pleased with the result.

"The game was ugly, the field condition poor. Also the officiating was poor. We created chances, so the team just have to come again," Johnson stated.

Tivoli moved up to third position on 48 points, just three adrift of leaders UWI, who are on 51 points. Humble Lion are in second position on 49 points. However, Jamalco remained on 26 points in 10th position.

Yesterday's results

Tivoli Gardens 2 Jamalco 0

Boys' Town 0 UWI FC 0