Champions H. View host Seba

Nodley Wright, Staff Reporter

THE fourth series of games in the second round of the National Premier League get going today with a number of key games in the corporate area.

Among these is the Harbour View/Seba matchup at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium at 7:00 p.m.

Before that game gets underway, former champions Waterhouse will host Constant Spring at Drewsland as they seek to get back to winning ways.

Also on the hunt to get back to winning habits are former champions Tivoli Gardens who host the struggling Olympic Gardens at Railway Oval. For the Tivoli Gardens camp, the game against Olympic Gardens is of primary importance as they have had mixed fortunes since the latter part of the first round and have taken it into this round. All other games start at 3:00 p.m.

After beating Waterhouse in the first game of this round, Tivoli drew 1-1 with Arnett Gardens at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex and followed that up with a loss to Seba last Sunday. The form slump is a major concern for coach Ali McNab.

"I am more interested in the mental makeup of my team. That is of primary concern to me," said McNab yesterday. "Since the start of this second round we have won one, lost one and drawn one. Whenever we play these so-called established teams they pick up. The problem is that when we come up against the teams we are supposed to put away with ease we have problems," he said.

This, McNab said, was evident on Sunday when they met Seba United - a team they had beaten handsomely at Railway. Then, McNab said, his players behaved as if they expected Seba to lay down and play dead.

Olympic Gardens were the beating stick of the last round but they began to show some character towards the end of the round when Calvert Fitzgerald stepped in to replace Dave Clarke. The team has drawn both games this round.

Their game against Tivoli will be a test of how far they have come. They will be looking for nothing less than a draw which would go well in repaying Tivoli for the first-round loss they inflicted at Cling Cling Oval.

If there was a time when the Gregory Messam-inspired Olympic Gardens had a chance of taking Tivoli Gardens it would be today. Tivoli are short of confidence following their indifferent form. Also, three of their front-line defenders in Trevor Fuller, Conroy Brown and Kasai Hinds are out and Steve Green and Christopher Nicholas are not 100 per cent fit.

Jermaine Johnson, who was employed as a forward in the first round, has reverted to his role as midfielder and he is not finding the same goalscoring form. For Tivoli to win he will have to play well and as McNab said the team will have to "score goals".

In addition to Messam, captain Tyrone Davis and Layton Barrett will be the key men for Olympic Gardens.

At Drewsland, Waterhouse will also be aiming to repair their record. Just last week they were soundly beaten by the in-form Arnett Gardens. That loss, according to coach Geoffrey Maxwell, disrupted the team's target of eight point after four games. With just three points from three games they are five points behind their target and are now in a must-win situation.

"It is a game we have to win because, based on our projections for the first four games, if we gained eight points we would be in an ideal position. If we were to win on Sunday we would have dropped two points based on projections. We are behind. We saw the Tivoli game as a win and the Arnett game as a draw," he said.

The studious Maxwell is well aware that Constant Spring will not be an easy team to beat. Though Waterhouse have a tremendous track record at home, he said Constant Spring are an unpredictable team.

"They have a talented team and if used properly will be a force to be reckoned with. On the day tradition counts for nothing, it is the team that follows instructions more and want it more," he said.

What could possibly go against the Waterhouse team is that they have not fully recovered from the end-of-first round final against Harbour View. A number of key players are still carrying injuries. Damion Powell, Irvino English, Kevin Lamey and Andrew Holloway are all expected to play though they are hurt.

Midfield architect Leroy Smith has not trained since the final due to a badly damaged ankle.

The Constant Spring team is a free-scoring one with Greg Gardner the danger man. He will be well supported by Oneil McDonald up front while captain Fabian Watkins and Lincoln Taffe will be providing the passes out of midfield.

At Harbour View, Seba, riding on their win over Tivoli Gardens, will go into the match full of confidence.

The arrival of Tanzanian Kilimangonga Ongala is said to have added to the team's young attack. It will take more than Ongala and confidence though to take care of the Peter Cargill-coached team which will be strengthened by the inclusion of national representatives forward Wolde Harris and defender Tyrone Marshall

TODAY'S GAMES