Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer 
Lowe .. to make his return appearance with Arnett Gardens today.
WITH TODAY'S schedule of games in the Wray and Nephew National Premier League marking the final stretch in the competition in the race towards the championship and survival, all the teams will be aiming for a good start.
A good start seems to mean more to Arnett Gardens than any other team though. After an ordinary first round and a second round in which they promised much but failed to deliver, they know that this round is hit or miss. With the return of national striker Onandi Lowe to the club their chances of being a hit have increased significantly.
This is also the view of coach Michael Tulloch.
"Definitely we know what we have to do and our chances are good with Lowe coming with his professional attitude," Tulloch told The Gleaner yesterday.
"His attitude has been wonderful. Right now he makes coaching very easy with the respect he commands from his peers . He takes his training very seriously," Tulloch said of the man who last represented Arnett Gardens in 2001 in a championship year.
"We intend to win. The task is not easy as we are seven points off fourth place and nine points off third but if the players rally around Onandi and follow his example then we are on our way," Tulloch said.
PARTNERS
Against Village United, the team they meet today at the Elliston Wakeland centre, Lowe is expected to partner Kevin Wilson up front with the likes of Patrick Beech and Leon Strickland serving as backup. In midfield the likes of Daniel Shaw, Patrick Graham and Jonathan Williams should be supplying the passes.
While Arnett Gardens are expected to be strong on the forward line and in midfield they be stretched defensively. According to Tulloch, the only concern for his team is that there are "one or two niggling injuries, mainly on the defensive side but we have youngsters such as Kowri Pickersgill who are responding well".
Village too will have to feature a number of youngsters but not due to injury. A number of the more experienced players that played for the club earlier in the season are either playing in the United States A League or have been transferred to other local clubs.
Village coach Dr Dean Weatherly though is looking forward to the game. "It should be a very interesting game especially with the return of Lowe," Weatherly said.
"It also adds something new to the matchup as in the two games that we have met so far, we have shared the points. They defeated us at home and we defeated them at their home," he said.
Despite the departure of players such as Daniel Ricketts, Preston Bernard, Kirk Hendricks, Mark Williams, Shane Crawford, Fabian Dawkins, Teofore Bennett, Ian McAnuff and Warren Ukah, Weatherly said his side was in good spirits.
"My team right now is doing well. The players are excited and ready to go. They want to maintain themselves in the Premier League and, with divine intervention, we can get to the semi-finals," he said.
The club, he said, has also put some incentives in place to motivate the players and they are apparently responding well.
Weatherly admitted he is concerned about his side's lack of NPL experience but said the only way they could get that was by being given the opportunity.
Young players such as the promising Omar Allen, who should be partnered up front by the similarly tall Charles Hines, should be guided by the experienced Gregory Simpson, Nicardo Ffolkes, Garfield Jackson and Nigel Ellis.
In other matches today, second-placed Waterhouse should recover from their end of second round loss to beat Rivoli at Waterhouse. Despite playing away, Portmore should have few problems with Reno.
Harbour View are expected to beat Constant Spring while Tivoli Gardens should push Invaders closer to the NPL exit door. At Jarrett Park, Wadadah should continue their revival against Arlington.
TODAY'S GAMES
Waterhouse vs Rivoli at Waterhouse - 5:00 p.m.
Village vs Arnett Gardens at Elliston Wakeland Centre - 3:30 p.m.
Reno vs Portmore at Frome - 3:30 p.m.
Harbour View vs Constant Spring - 6:30 p.m.
Wadadah vs Arlington at Jarrett Park - 4:00 p.m.
Tivoli vs Invaders - 5:00 p.m.
SECOND ROUND STANDINGS
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | T/P |
| Portmore | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 4 | +18 | 28 | 51 |
| Waterhouse | 11 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 11 | +5 | 22 | 47 |
| Tivoli | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 13 | 8 | +5 | 22 | 45 |
| H. View | 11 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 18 | 44 |
| Arnett | 11 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 14 | 13 | +1 | 17 | 37 |
| C. Spring | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 14 | 21 |
| Village | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 | 12 | -1 | 14 | 28 |
| Rivoli | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 13 | 25 |
| Wadadah | 11 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 12 | 16 | -4 | 13 | 20 |
| Arlington | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 9 | 16 |
| Reno | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 14 | -7 | 9 | 19 |
| Invaders | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 22 | -14 | 5 | 12 |
