ROLAND DEAN scored a brace to hand Tivoli Gardens a comfortable lead, but Boys' Town staged a remarkable comeback and netted twice in the final 17 minutes, to draw their Digicel Premier League match 2-2 and secure their first End-of-Round final berth.
Playing in front of his home crowd at Edward Seaga Sports Complex, Dean put Tivoli Gardens on course to victory with goals in the 30th and 53rd minutes, as both teams battled to claim a spot in the End-of-Round final.
First-round final
Boys' Town, who were denied a first-round final placing by Tivoli Gardens in a home loss for the corresponding first-round fixture - which they lost 2-0 at Collie Smith Drive - were determined not to endure the same fate and rallied strongly to tie the match on goals from Wayne Ellis (73rd) and new signing Kemar Petrekin, who equalised with a glancing header off Robert Scarlett's free kick three minutes from time.
"It takes a lot of character to come back from 2-0 down at Tivoli," remarked Andrew Price, Boys' Town's technical director. "I'm thankful for the point. To come down here and get a point when they needed the win says a lot about this team. It's just about hope and commitment."
Draw to advance
Boys' Town, which needed only the draw to advance to the End-of- Round final, ended their 11-game fixture this round with 21 points, three less than the 24 accumulated by defending champions Portmore United, which drew goalless with first End-of-Round champions Harbour View at Compound.
Both Harbour View, Tivoli and Arnett Gardens, which also had a chance at qualifying for the round final, ended with 18 points.
"It'll help our coffers," noted Price of their qualification for the finals, which offers a trophy to the winner and money to the contestants. "We're down and out with our economic base. This will certainly help us with some of the debts we have out there."
The mood was contrasting in the camp of Tivoli, which played in the first-round final.
"It was a disappointing result playing at home," stated their head coach, Lenworth Hyde Sr. "Our objective was to get three points, we want to stay closer to the leaders. But it was an enjoyable game for the spectators.
"We played well for 70 minutes and went to sleep ... then Boys' Town took over," admitted Hyde, whose team was cruising with a clear advantage and almost went three up but for an open miss by Damion Gordon.
Boys' Town rode their luck then dug deep to gain the ascendancy in a frenetic last 20 minutes, during which they created enough wide open chances to win against a leg-weary Tivoli.
Hyde tried to stem the pressure with defensive additions Michael Blygen and Ryan Reid, but the offense added by Price through Petrekin and Oneil McDonald had greater force and broke Tivoli's resolve time and again.
Strong effort
The goals apart, Boys' Town amazingly missed sitters when Tivoli custodian Damion Crooks couldn't handle free kicks, the first a fiercely driven shot from George Vernal to which Michael Campbell headed the rebound over; and the next, even more miraculous, when Garfield Gillespie put the ball on the upright when Crooks spilled McDonald's free kick into unchallenged path four yards from goal.
"I'm a little disappointed with the scoreline," noted Price. "We got a lot of chances and didn't put them away."