Led by striker Devon Hodges, the competition's leading marksman; and Valentine Gardner, Rivoli United turned back St Georges Sports Club 2-0 in their Digicel Premier League match at the Spanish Town Prison Oval yesterday.

"The team has started to deliver on how we have trained recently," said Rivoli's coach, Bradley Stewart. "You could not see the difference in the team's positions in the league."

Brilliant save

Victory pushed Rivoli to eighth on 20 points, while St Georges, who started the eighth round in third position, stayed on 31 points.

Rivoli, whose custodian made a brilliant save early in the match, were cautious and forced to defend initially, as the ball was played mainly in their half, leaving their strikers starved.

Despite this, when they made ventures forward, there were signs of urgency coming from the diminutive forward Gardner. He broke the deadlock in the 50th minute with a close-range shot.

Gardner would be a factor in his team's second goal after being brought down by St Georges' Ricardo Taylor in the 74th minute.

Hodges took the free kick and after having the initial effort failed, he blasted in the rebound, making Prison Oval erupt as the margin increased to 2-0.

With the two-goal cushion, the home team were more composed and gave an exciting display of passing that had the patrons standing and shouting "Rivoli, Rivoli, Rivoli," until the referee blew the final whistle.

"We played well," said St Georges coach, Braxton Hyre. "However, the first goal set us back and the greatly taken free kick by Hodges really was something special, although we should have equalised."

Rivoli United 2

Valentine Gardener 50th

Devon Hodges 74th

St Georges 0