CLARENDON PARK, Clarendon — Sporting Central Academy missed a chance yesterday to secure their Red Stripe Premier League status for next season following a goalless draw with South Central neighbours Rivoli United at Juici Park.

With 11th-placed Reno FC drawing 4-4 at the already relegated Barbican FC, a victory against Rivoli would have moved Sporting Central four points clear of the drop zone with only one game to go in the preliminary round — a result that would have also demoted Reno to the Western Confederation Super League.

But this stalemate means that both Sporting, who inched to 34 points, and Reno, now on 32, will go into the last game of the regular season with much work to do.

Essentially, both teams need a win from their last game of the season to assure survival — Sporting Central against fifth-placed Tivoli Gardens and Reno against western neighbours Montego Bay United, who occupy third place.

Despite the setback, Nigel Stewart, the Sporting Central coach, remains upbeat about his team’s chances of avoiding the drop for a sixth-successive season.

“I didn’t think we played badly today,” said Stewart in his post-game interview. “We just didn’t take our chances when they came.

“Yes, a victory would have made us safe, but I think we got a rush of blood in the final moments of the game. But we are still confident that we can get the job done next week.”

–Oshane Tobias