By Paul A. Reid, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
STRUGGLING WRAY and Nephew National Premier League team Wadadah will host Tivoli Gardens in a Zone B game at Jarrett Park this afternoon starting at 4:00 p.m. as the third round gets underway.
The team, fresh from a big win over Montego Bay arch-rivals Seba United in the JNBS Federation Cup KO competition at Jarrett Park on Sunday, is desperate for points as it sits in 11th place in the competition, one from the bottom.
Tivoli Gardens are also eager for points as they are in fifth place on 35 points, three out of a semi-final spot.
The return of Mark Mendel to the NPL as Tivoli's coach in a game in Montego Bay against Wadadah will be ironic. The last time Mendel coached in the Premier League - in 1994 - it was between the same teams at the Wembley grounds in the final game of the season. The coach left the game at halftime then after it was discovered that there was a plot between the teams to give the points to the Montego Bay team which needed all three points to stay in the league then.
Wadadah's coach, Carlton Alexander, said yesterday that Sunday's win over Seba had lifted the spirits of his players but cautioned that it must be a means to an end and must be a "stepping stone" to further wins.
While beating Seba was a big achievement, Alexander conceded that they were "desperate for all the points we can get right now, the focus is on staying in the Premier League at all cost".
Alexander said he was most pleased with the defensive intensity on Sunday night and hoped the team would put up a good show today. His only concern was over the fitness of the veteran defender Garnet Denton who limped off against Seba but Alexander said the prognosis was good.
Mendel reports however that his team will be at full strength - including national striker Christopher Nicholas and new signing, former Real Mona midfielder Darren Virtue.
Tivoli will be seeking their third straight win over Wadadah this season, beating them 2-0 and 5-0 under former coach Geoffrey Maxwell.
The new-look Wadadah includes national invitee Lacon Brissett who scored from a free kick against Seba on Sunday, Floyd Scott, Cornwall College schoolboy Kirkland Smith and midfielder Garth Boota.
Alexander warned that with their NPL lives on the line, they will not be holding back in their efforts to secure full points.
