Lloyd still recovering, but showing quality

Arnett Gardens' Renae Lloyd played his second game of the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) season against UWI FC at the UWI bowl recently in which he scored and made a goal and showed how vital he still is to the Trench Town outfit.

Lloyd struggled with injury at the end of last season, even though he played a crucial role in the final victory over Portmore United. But in just his second game back, both from the bench, Lloyd changed the game, scoring a free kick and starting the play which led to the final goal. The play-maker said it was frustrating watching from the sidelines and that it was good to be back.

no rush to return

"It is my second game since I got injured. I came off the bench Monday night against Boys' Town and today (Sunday) against UWI.. I'm not in any rush, we are playing well and we have a lot of young players playing and that is good.

"My teammates have been there for me and it feels good to be out there again, because it was very frustrating to watch the games and seeing your teammates giving their all and you can do anything, so it feels good to be out there again," he told The Gleaner.

Lloyd came into the game with Arnett leading 2-1 through Ricardo Oldham (12th) and Fabian Reid (52nd). Ryan Miller had equalised for UWI with his league leading sixth goal of the season. However, he influenced the match immediately.

"I am always confident and my teammates have a lot of confidence in me and that's why they gave me the nickname 'brain' because they say I understand the game well," he said.

"When you are on the bench you observe a lot and you see where you can come on and make a difference. The field was heavy, there was a lot of rain and the players wanted to dribble, so I wanted to come on and changed that. I wanted to pass and move the ball around.

"The good thing is we were leading 2-1, so that gave me some space and more touches on the ball and gradually when the ball started to move around players confidence rose," he stated.

"I am not fully recovered. I have been plagued with some hamstring injuries. But for the past few months I have been in the gym, not regularly but I do a lot of strengthening when I get the chance and hopefully everything goes fine for the rest of the season," he added