JERMAINE Johnson once again stole the show, but for all the wrong reasons as Tivoli Gardens battled to a 1-1 draw against Boys’ Town in their second outing of the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) season at Barbican Football Field yesterday.

The former national representative was in a seemingly sour mood and was cautioned for a brief scuffle with Boys’ Town goalkeeper Kirk Porter, who tried to calm him down after a dispute with a spectator just before the break.

The player later had another exchange with a spectator after receiving a second caution and was sent off in the 75th minute for allegedly directing foul and abusive language at referee Dwight Royal.

But the on-field action was a bit more positive and was evenly contested up to the half-hour mark with both teams pressing to gain the early ascendancy.

The shape and attractiveness of the game was, however, lopsided as the players had to traverse tough underfoot conditions due to the early afternoon showers.

But it was Boys’ Town that gained the upper hand four minutes into the resumption when an unmarked Kimarley Fray connected with Xavian Virgo’s well-weighted free kick from the right side of the 18-yard box.

And in seemingly a blink of an eye, Tivoli replied two minutes later as Miguel Ricketts was on hand to whip home a rebound from Porter, who had earlier pulled off a brilliant stop from a Nickoy Christian long-range effort.

Even with a man short, Tivoli went for the kill and thought they had it late, but their appeal for a penalty was waved off after Andre Morgan’s effort was blocked by a defender. Boys’ Town caused a few problems of their own, but failed to capitalise and had to settle for a share of the points for a second time in as many games.

Christopher Bender of Tivoli lamented playing a man down, but was pleased with earlier highlights of his team’s performance.

“You don’t want to get red cards in games like these; it was a tight game and the card affected our game plan. We are not satisfied because you always want to win a game, but I am pleased with the improved performance compared to last week and I will take that as a positive,” he told journalists in a post-match assessment.

His counterpart Andrew Price expressed similar sentiments.

“I am a bit disappointed. When you play at home you always want to maximise on the effort and get three points. I thought we gave a good effort, but the condition of the field after the rain didn’t encourage our regular play,” he told the Jamaica Observer.