Barbican went to Tivoli Gardens on Sunday propping up the Red Stripe Premier League and up against a team that had bagged 5 goals in their last match but came away with a creditable point in a 0-0 draw, to stay in touch with the teams just above them in the relegation scrap.
A scrappy first half was not helped by the usual strong winds coming off the Caribbean Sea and though the home team dominated the early possession they failed to create any real goal scoring opportunities.
Tivoli could have gone ahead in the 15th minute however, when Shawn McCoy received a pass when unmarked inside the box but made a mess of controlling the ball and lost the opportunity to shoot on target.
Nicholas Scott who could do no wrong against Sporting Central a week ago when he got all five for his team, shot just wide of the upright just two minutes later as Tivoli threatened to put the premier league strugglers to the sword.
Barbican withstood the onslaught before working their way back into the match but failed to register a single shot on target for the first half.
Scott was presented with another chance to give his team the lead nine minutes before the break but his shot went high when he was clean through on goal with Shaven Paul at his mercy.
The first chance of the second half fell to Scott but his attempted lob went over the crossbar while a stranded Paul watched the ball float harmlessly over his head.
Central midfielder Rohan Reid tried a speculative effort from distance but it had better chances of reaching the sea than finding the back of the net as Tivoli searched for the opening goal.
Out of nowhere, Nicholas Smith struck the crossbar for Barbican when he was given time and space in the midfield and fired towards goal. The crossbar came to the rescue of the home team as the game remained deadlocked.
Barrington Pryce missed the best chance of the game with nine minutes left to play. A Christopher Jackson corner fell kindly for the defender who booted over the crossbar from inside the six yard box, to the amazement of the home fans.
Having rode their luck for most of the game, Barbican was presented with two chances late on to nick all three points but was unable to convert either opportunity.
In the 88th minute, substitute Jamoy Green sprung the Tivoli offside trap but chose the more difficult option of trying to beat the goalkeeper at the near post instead of crossing to fellow striker Shaquelle Lewis who was free inside the box.
The next chance came on the stroke of full time when Barbican countered with a three on one after a Tivoli move broke down. Brilliant goalkeeping and a good recovery effort from McKoy denied Lewis who had two bites at the cherry to grab a famous win at the death.
Alvin Shaw was pleased with his team’s performance despite being held at home.
“Hats off to Barbican, they have been playing well over the last few weeks and have shown that they can beat anyone on any given day, as they did at Harbour View recently.
My players did well today, we were just unlucky not to get the ball in the back of the net.
“We will continue to work hard because we still believe that we can get into the top four. There is still one more full round left to play so we will be working hard for all the points available.”
Barbican coach Marvin Tate is hoping the transfer window will bring a relief to the goal scoring drought his team now faces.
“We have been playing well in the last couple of games but goal scoring has failed us. Someway, somehow we have to get it right.
“We are hoping to sign Kyle Scott from Cavalier and Andre Beckford from Mile Gully in the transfer window and we think this will provide us with the ammunition we need for the rest of the season,” he concluded.
Barbican moves up to 19 points with the draw, one behind 11th place Reno and two behind Sporting Central who occupy 10th position.
Tivoli remains in 7th place and has 29 points, the same as Rivoli and Humble Lion who occupy the two spots above them.
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