Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
WRAY AND Nephew National Premier League leaders Tivoli Gardens could virtually secure their place in the semi-finals this afternoon if they can beat former champions Seba United for the fourth straight time when they meet in a third round Zone B game at Jarrett Park, starting at 6:00 p.m.
Tivoli's coach, Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, had protested playing late games after the JNBS Federation Cup Knockout game between the sides was called off last Wednesday after a power cut knocked out the flood lights and a subsequent appeal to the Jamaica Football Federation was dismissed.
A win by Tivoli Gardens, who will be playing at Jarrett Park for the second time in five days, would see them increase their points tally to 60 and it would appear improbable they could be passed by the four other teams that can accumulate more than that total.
Meanwhile, defending champions Portmore and Rivoli will be seeking to improve their positions behind the leaders when they take on Village at Elliston Wakeland and Reno at Frome respectively, starting at 3:30 p.m.
Portmore are in second place on 47 points with Rivoli fifth on 45 and continuing their charge which started in the second round.
A loss by Rivoli, against the odds, would confirm Tivoli's semi-final berth.
Seba finally managed to hold Tivoli in their last meeting that was interrupted by the power cut with only nine minutes to be played and coach Tommy Taylor will be hoping his players can translate that into a win today.
Tivoli were without top scorer Christopher Nicholas on Wednesday and, if he's fit, he will add to a potent line-up that should also include Roland Dean, Andrew Chisholm, Fabian Davis and Steve Green. On paper, the Seba attack which includes Theodore Whitmore, Wilfred Smith, Damion Williams and Iton Scott with Kemar Mills and Denzil Watson coming off the bench, looks good but has yet to produce.
The odds are stacked against Seba after letting in the second most goals, 41, this season against one of the best attacking teams.
At Elliston, Village United will be hoping to snap their two-game losing run as they try to regroup for a final run at the semi-finals but will have their hands full with a Portmore team that looks to be rounding into form.
Village have managed to win just once in their past seven games and have slipped all the way to sixth place in the standings.
SWAPPED WINS
If the form stays true, Portmore should win today after both teams have swapped wins at each other's home fields in their two previous meetings this season.
The four goals they scored against Trelawny rivals Invaders not withstanding, Village have scored just one goal in their three other third-round games played so far and coach Lloyd Williams might be wondering where their goals will come from.
Despite losing at home to Tivoli, Portmore have had no problems scoring this round and last year's leading scorer Roen Nelson's hat-trick against Invaders in the last round might be a bad omen for Village.
Reno will want to use Wednesday's 2-2 Fed Cup draw against Rivoli as a sign that they are improving after being beaten 2-1 the previous Sunday but needs to win tomorrow.
The team is facing yet another crisis with players not turning up for either training or games and resulted in national second string goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence playing an outfield position on Wednesday.
Despite scoring a goal from open play, Lawrence's presence in an outfield position is a negative for the team that also had to do some juggling of players today.
Having advanced to the next round of the Fed Cup, Rivoli are expected to return to their full compliment of players and if Patrick Beech, Garfield Reid, Mobi Oparaku and Gregory Tape are in the starting line-up, Reno could be in for a long day.
Archrivals clash at Harbour View
Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
AFTER A short break the Wray and Nephew National Premier League is back in full swing with three matches in Kingston and St. Andrew.
In the spotlight will be the 3:30 clash between former champions Harbour View and Waterhouse at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium.
Other matches will see the stabilising Constant Spring seeking to stave off an invasion from relegation battlers Invaders of Trelawny while former League standardbearers Arnett Gardens, who seem just out of the semi-final race, seeking to put one more nail in the relegation coffin of the grounded Star Cosmos of St. Mary.
The Harbour View/Waterhouse match-up will be a rematch of the end of first round final - a game which Waterhouse won. Since that final, despite possessing two of the leading scorers in the competition, Kevin Lamey (Waterhouse) and the recently departed Fabian Taylor of Harbour View, both teams have not been the most consistent.
Harbour View and Waterhouse are in third and fourth position respectively and just one slip could see either sliding out of the semi-final running with just six sets of matches remaining.
GOOD RUN
To address the problem, Waterhouse brought back former coach Kenneth 'Bop' Campbell and he has had a good run, winning all three matches against Arnett Gardens.
"My players are finding the right form at the right time," Campbell said of his team following 1-0, 1-0 and 3-1 wins in succession over Arnett Gardens in the NPL and JNBS Knockout competition respectively.
"They are playing like a team now. The vibes I feel are just right. I like the approach of the players; they are more serious and, as a coach, this is the ideal way one would like to see things," said a pleased Campbell.
Today, he will have all but one of his top players at his disposal. Back in contention is captain Irvino English who was injured but out goes Weston Forrest for an accumulation of three yellow cards. To most observers English, Damion Powell, Lamey and Uche Chinyere are Waterhouse's key players but Campbell is of a different opinion.
"Our strength is the team. That is what I emphasise and they have been responding," said Campbell unconsciously paraphrasing the team motto: "Unity is Strength".
Campbell conceded that Harbour View is a good team but his team, he said, had no plans of coming out second best. "We have no choice because we are fourth and they are third. Fourth is no comfort zone so it is just one intention that I have (to gain all three points)," he concluded.
Harbour View's Donovan Hayles is of the view that they too are in a similar position.
"When you look at the situation of the league right now, Tivoli are alone at the top but after that it is a bundle. The battle is really for the three remaining positions," said Hayles.
TODAY'S GAMES
Harbour View vs Waterhouse at Harbour View Mini-Stadium (3:30)
Constant Spring vs Invaders at Constant Spring (3:30)
Arnett Gardens vs Star Cosmos at Tony Spaulding Sport Complex (5:30)
Seba vs Tivoli Gardens at Jarrett Park (6:00)
Village United vs Portmore United at Elliston Wakeland (3:30)
Reno vs Rivoli at Frome (3:30)
