Howard Walker, Staff Reporter
( left - right ) Tivoli's Nicholas, Waterhouse's English and Harbour View's Blackburn
THE FINAL round of the Wray and Nephew National Premier League takes place today with Harbour View just one win away from winning the million-dollar prize.
They will host Rivoli United at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium at 3:30 p.m.
All the other five games will also be played at the same time with Reno hosting Arnett Gardens at Frome, Village taking on Wadadah at the Elliston Wakeland Centre, Waterhouse welcoming Tivoli Gardens at the Waterhouse Mini-Stadium, Arlington travelling to Constant Spring and Portmore at home to Invaders.
Harbour View, the 2000 champions, are in pole position to finish atop the premier league standings and in the process secure the million-dollar prize money with a win over Rivoli.
With 71 points they only need to win their encounter against Rivoli, which lie 35 points below them.
Luton Shelton, Jermaine Hue, Lovell Palmer, Robert Scarlett, Marcelino Blackburn, Damion Stewart, Donald Stewart and Ryan Thompson should be too good for a Rivoli team sitting in mid-table with nothing to play for.
Harbour View's closest rival, Waterhouse, are on 70 points, but have a tough game on their hands against the defending champions, Tivoli Gardens and could even end up third in the table if they succumb to the rampaging champions.
Geoffrey Maxwell, coach of Waterhouse, the team he led to the 1998 title, said he is not concentrating on the million-dollar prize but is more concerned about fine-tuning his charges for the semi-finals, with the ultimate aim being the premier league title.
ACID TEST
Tivoli Gardens, the most prolific team with 68 goals, and also with the leading goalscorer in Christopher Nicholas with 23 goals, will be an acid test for Waterhouse as the semi-final protagonists wind down.
Tivoli Gardens will want to send a strong message about defending their crown and a good performance is expected.
But can the likes of Nicholas, the out-of-form Roland Dean, captain Kasai Hinds, Steve Green, Davian Laing, Christopher Jackson and Orane Simpson get the better of a consistent Water-house aggregation?
Kevin Lamey has also been in a rich vein of form, banging in 20 goals to be three behind Nicholas and will want to outshine and ultimately outscore his rival for the goalscoring title.
Richard West, Uche Chinyere, Roberto Fletcher, Irvino English, Adrian Reid and Damion Powell will prove hard to beat.
A win for Tivoli Gardens would see them leapfrog Waterhouse into second spot and set up a June 16 semi-final clash between both teams.
Portmore United should have a field day with relegated Invaders, a team that normally travels with one substitute, and Rivoli's 15-0 might be erased as the highest score for the season.
STANDINGS
| GP | | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS. |
| 1 H.View | 32 | 21 | 05 | 06 | 55 | 32 | 23 | 71 |
| 2 Waterhouse | 32 | 20 | 08 | 04 | 59 | 25 | 34 | 70 |
| 3 Tivoli | 32 | 19 | 10 | 03 | 68 | 28 | 40 | 67 |
| 4 Portmore | 32 | 18 | 09 | 05 | 52 | 18 | 34 | 66 |
| 5 Arnett | 32 | 18 | 04 | 10 | 51 | 33 | 18 | 58 |
| 6 Rivoli | 32 | 10 | 06 | 16 | 51 | 36 | 15 | 36 |
| 7 Village | 32 | 09 | 09 | 14 | 38 | 45 | -7 | 36 |
| 8 Wadadah | 32 | 08 | 08 | 16 | 38 | 67 | -29 | 32 |
| 9 Reno | 32 | 07 | 10 | 15 | 27 | 42 | -15 | 31 |
| 10 Spring | 32 | 06 | 12 | 14 | 30 | 48 | -18 | 30 |
| 11 Arlington | 32 | 05 | 07 | 20 | 21 | 61 | -40 | 22 |
| 12 Invaders | 32 | 02 | 10 | 21 | 23 | 78 | -55 | 16 |
Harbour View received 3 bonus points for winning first End-of-Round final.
Portmore received 3 bonus points for winning the second End-of-Round final.
Waterhouse received 2 bonus points for being losing finalist in both End-of-Round finals.
