Stewart praises Rivoli for overall performance in Red Stripe Premier League

Veteran coach Bradley Stewart lifted his hat to his charges on Monday night as his 11th-placed Rivoli United put in an impressive display against defending champions Arnett Gardens, as both teams ended 0-0 in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).

Stewart, who took over the relegation-threatened team following the departure of Harold Thomas, was happy that the players responded to his urgings and made a fight of the match.

"I would give them seven out of 10 on the technical side in terms of what they were able to do. On the condition side, they ran for the entire 90 minutes of the game. I think that where we are probably a little weak is the mental toughness that you would expect from the players, but overall I am pleased with them; they did well," said Stewart, who served as assistant to former national coach, Theodore Whitmore.

The performance of the team, Stewart said, was not surprising.

"I am not surprised by how well we played. Before I went to Rivoli, I saw them play Arnett Gardens at Spanish Town, where Rivoli scored first and Arnett scored late. Rivoli had good possession, but did not stand up well to Arnett. This evening, though, was different as they stood up to everything Arnett threw at them," Stewart said.

Among the drawbacks he saw was that they did not concentrate for long.

"Sometimes they lose their concentration a little bit too easily, and sometimes we would get exploited based on that, but we did well tonight. We ran for the 90 minutes and created chances. We did not put them away because the goalkeeper was outstanding this evening," added Stewart.

Despite the positives that he has seen since taking over, Stewart believes that surviving the drop will be a difficult thing.

"It is going to be tough. Unless the teams above us keep losing, it is going to be tough for us to catch the teams that are nine, 10 or eight points above us."

 

Standings

 

Teams P W D L GF GA GD Pts

MoBay United 27 15 9 3 45 15 30 54

Arnett 26 15 5 6 42 20 22 50

Portmore 26 14 5 7 31 24 7 47

Humble Lion FC 26 10 9 7 24 22 2 39

UWI FC 26 10 7 9 30 35 -5 37

H. View 26 8 10 8 30 26 4 34

Cavalier SC 26 8 7 11 21 25 -4 31

Reno 26 7 9 10 25 38 -13 30

Boys' Town 26 8 6 12 29 43 -14 30

Tivoli 27 8 5 14 30 37 -7 29

Rivoli 26 5 8 12 25 34 -9 23

Waterhouse 26 4 10 12 22 32 -10 22