Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
Harbour View's Fabian Taylor and
Arnett Gardens' Kevin Wilson
THE WRAY and Nephew National Premier League should provide good entertainment this week end, as there are a number of
exciting matches on show. There is a little of everything to look
forward to in today's full schedule of games.
If you are in the mood for a
possibly one-sided goal feast
then the Waterhouse/Wadadah matchup could provide that. Village United should be able to field a strong enough team with more than two players on their bench and if they are able to do so then Reno too could get a whipping at Elliston Wakeland Centre.
For the lovers of balance and keen competition and good quality football, Portmore United and Tivoli Gardens could provide that at Ferdie Neita Park. Arlington and Invaders could provide a similar treat but of a lesser quality.
The one that should show off the most balance and entertainment though is the Arnett Gardens/Harbour View clash at the Tony Spaulding Sports Complex. This game puts together the leaders of the second round of the competition and the overall leaders of the NPL. Both teams are very attacking and are blessed with quality players.
Harbour View have played just one match so far in this round due to the number of players they have in the national squad. As a result, two of their matches have had to be rescheduled. In that one match, played soon after the end of year holidays, they looked anything but championship material. That NPL layoff could either help or hurt them today against a fired up Arnett Gardens.
HAYLES OPTIMISTIC
"One cannot tell whether the layoff will help or hurt us. Hopefully it will not hurt us," an optimistic Harbour View coach Donovan Hayles said yesterday.
What should give him more reason for optimism is the way his players have been training.
"The team looked good in training. Yesterday in particular, I was very pleased with the way they looked unlike in the one NPL game we have played in this round as well as the Knockout game. They moved well and passed the ball well," he added.
Harbour View will be going into today's game without a number of their regular players. Forward Luton Shelton, defender Jermaine Taylor, goalkeeper Ryan Thompson and midfielder Akeem Priestley will all be absent due to national duty while Clifton Waugh has to attend the funeral service of a family member.
Despite that, Hayles still expects full points.
NO ROOM FOR EXCUSES
"I am looking for the full points and there will be no room for excuses be it rustiness or the absence of these players. There has been a fair degree of squad rotation from the beginning of the season. To take us to the championship we cannot expect to use just one set of players. I still expect to win without these players," he said.
The return of Fabian Taylor, who led last season's goalscoring chart despite missing a chunk of the season due to injuries and departure to the United States Major League Soccer will certainly boost the side. Besides Taylor they should have the midfield master Jermaine Hue, Fabian Taylor, Christopher Harvey, William Richards, Craig Stewart, Robert Scarlett and Sean Fraser to lead the way.
Arnett Gardens are never usually intimidated by names and they too will be going for full points. According to their coach, Jerome Waite, Harbour View
are not expected to spring any surprises.
"We know what Harbour View have to offer. They are a good, well-coached attacking team. Whenever we play them it is always a good encounter and this game should be no different in that aspect," Waite said.
"Yes, they won the first round of the competition and as well as the Caribbean Club Championship. In our first round game we lost 2-0 away from home but in this round we have done fairly well and are leading," he continued.
Like Hayles, he fully expects his team to be three points richer at the end of 90 minutes of football action.
RETURNING THE FAVOUR
"For this game our objective definitely is to return the favour and it has not come at a better time in that we are the leaders in the round and we are playing at home," said Waite.
The Arnett Gardens team is at close to full strength with just one player, Cornel Chin-Sue, out of contention due to injury. That leaves the likes of Kevin Wilson, Jonathan Williams, Kwame Richardson, Everton Bunsie, Patrick Graham, Gerald Neil, Keith Kelly, Alex Thomas and company to vie for starting places.
Whatever the outcome, this game could be explosive in football terms.
SECOND ROUND STANDINGS
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Arnett | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| C. Spring | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| Tivoli | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 |
| Portmore | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4 |
| Waterhouse | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| Arlington | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Village | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| Rivoli | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Invaders | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| H. View | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Wadadah | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 |
| Reno | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
TODAY'S GAMES
Portmore vs Tivoli Gardens at Ferdie Neita Park
Waterhouse vs Wadadah at Waterhouse Mini Stadium
Arlington vs Invaders at Prison Oval
Constant Spring vs Rivoli at The Spring Complex
Arnett Gardens vs Harbour View at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex
Village United vs Reno at Elliston Wakeland
All games start at 3:00 p.m.
