Nodley Wright, Freelance WriterFOR LAST season's Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL) champions Portmore United and Harbour View, today's first leg of the semi-finals in the Wray and Nephew Knockout Cup, is a final opportunity to win a title this season when they take on Seba United and Tivoli Gardens respectively in a double header at the National Stadium.
Seba United play Portmore at 5:00 p.m. while Harbour View oppose Tivoli Gardens at 7:00 p.m.
Last season, Portmore United were untouchable - almost perfect, but this season, even with the late addition of former national striker Onandi Lowe, they were not the same as they failed to challenge for the NPL title.
HARBOUR VIEW, CHELSEA LINK
Harbour View were at the beginning of the season likened to the English Premier League champions Chelsea because, having as much as a 13-point lead midway through the season, winning the title appeared to be a formality.
Having disposed of one promoted team, the overachieving Boys' Town on penalties midweek, Portmore United come up against another promoted team, Seba. To get to this point, Seba United, under the urgings of the sometimes midfield magician Theodore Whitmore, dumped out League champions Waterhouse 4-2 on aggregate despite playing both legs in Kingston.
Having disposed of the champions and with Portmore not looking the most convincing, casual fans could be forgiven for giving Seba United the edge over Portmore and, understandably, the Montego Bay-based team is on a high.
"Since we were not successful in the league, we set ourselves the goal of winning the Cup," said club stalwart Bruce Gaynor, explaining his team's strong run thus far.
"The truth is that we have a good team, but we did not demonstrate that at the start of the season. We have now committed ourselves to going all the way and that is what we intend to do," he said.
In the headliner, Tivoli Gardens appear to be the fresher of the two teams following the way they disposed of Village United, their strong run at the end of the league season and the return to fitness and action of key players such as Fabian Davis, Jermaine Johnson, Christopher Nicholas and the steady Kasai Hinds.
TODAY'S GAMES
At the National Stadium
Seba vs Portmore - 5:00 p.m. Harbour View vs Tivoli - 7:00 p.m.
