Racing United outscore Tivoli Gardens 4-3 in JPL thriller

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Racing United continued their impressive scoring run, securing back-to-back victories to move into second place in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) standings with a thrilling 4-3 win over Tivoli Gardens at Drewsland Stadium on Monday. The victory handed Tivoli Gardens their first defeat of the season and followed Racing United’s emphatic 6-0 demolition of Chapelton Maroons a week earlier. Racing United have now scored 10 of their 14 goals this season in their last two matches. In the second game of the double-header, Mario Simms struck with a stoppage-time free kick to rescue a point for Waterhouse FC in a 1-1 draw against Tru-Juice FC. The Racing United-Tivoli Gardens encounter produced four goals in a frenetic 21-minute spell in the first half, with Tivoli battling back three times before the break. Nickyle Ellis opened the scoring for Racing United in the 14th minute, but Steve Clarke responded two minutes later to draw Tivoli level. Ellis restored Racing’s advantage in the 18th minute before Leaunghn Williams equalised again in the 35th minute, netting his third goal of the season. Javaughn Cole then put Racing United ahead for the third time, scoring in first-half stoppage time to send his team into the break with a 3-2 lead. Racing appeared to have secured the points when substitute Chantomoi Taylor extended their advantage to 4-2 in the 78th minute. However, Tivoli substitute Joshua Dewar set up a tense finish by pulling one back in the 89th minute. Tivoli pushed for another equaliser but Racing held on to claim all three points and climb to second in the standings. In the other game, Tru-Juice looked poised to return to winning ways after taking the lead against Waterhouse. Tajay McIntosh ran on to a perfectly weighted pass from Daniel Roberts to put Tru-Juice ahead in the 26th minute. After suffering their first defeat in their previous outing, Tru-Juice defended resolutely and looked set to secure the victory. Waterhouse, however, had other ideas. Simms stepped up in stoppage time to curl a superb free kick from just outside the penalty area past goalkeeper Tafari Chambers, with the ball sneaking under the crossbar to earn his team a share of the points. — Paul A Reid