Tivoli Gardens coach, Omar Edwards, said injuries to his main strikers have slowed their momentum in the Red Stripe Premier (RSPL) in the last few weeks. This has seen the west Kingston club losing three matches and drawing once in their last four matches.
Tivoli lost back-to-back games against Sandals and Reno, and before that, they drew 1-1 with Humble Lion and lost 1-0 against Humble Lion, but Edwards said injuries to topscorer, Colorado Murray, Andre Moulton, and Jermaine 'Teddy' Johnson have strained their offence in recent weeks.
However, he says they are looking to get back to winning ways against hosts Harbour View, who are also on a two-match losing run, at 7:00 this evening.
"We lost back-to-back games. But at the start of the season, we were in a similar position. We lost our first two but managed to turn things around. We are not nervous. We are not panicking. We have quality in our team and believe sooner than later we will get back to winning ways," he said.
Edwards understands the importance of amassing points to keep up in the standings, and he intends to stay positive, as he is confident they can turn it around in the near future, despite their three top strikers nursing injuries..
"I would say faulty shooting (has let us down). We have been playing good, competitive football and created numerous opportunities but we lack concentration in front the goal," he said.
"Our centre forwards are injured and they have continued to play through pain in some instances. Colorado Murray, who has been scoring most of the goals and Andre Moulton are injured. They are in training and have been improving and I believe you will see them (today).
"Jermaine 'Teddy' Johnson has also delayed his surgery until the end of the season. He is not in the best of condition but has been giving it his best. But our injured players have quality and any given day they can get it right, despite them not been 100 per cent they still have quality to achieve our ambitions," he added.
Harbour View have lost twice to Tivoli this season, but Edwards will not be taking his opponents lightly
"They are a ball-playing team and they are organised in defence and possession. We are equally good, and on the day it's who wants it more," Edwards said.
Tivoli are fourth on 37 points, while Harbour View have dropped to eighth with 30 points.