Adrian Frater, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
GRANVILLE FC and Mont-pelier, fresh from their respective semi-final wins, will be aiming to draw first-blood today when they meet in the first-leg final of the 2006-07 Captain's Bakery Super Football League at the Rusea's High School grounds in Lucea at 3:30 p.m.
Red-hot Granville, winners of the competition's two end-of-round finals, marched into the finals by virtue of their 4-0 semi-final aggregate win over Sandy Bay, who they defeated 3-0 in their first-leg game and 1-0 in the return game. We are happy to be in the final but the job will not be completed until we win the title, said Granville FC's coach, Tracy Reid.
"Our ultimate aim is to qualify for the 2007-2008 Wray & Nephew NPL competition," she said.
Montpelier, last year's beaten finalists, have also been enjoying a good season and their semi-final victory over outgoing champions Negril FC was no surprise. After a first-leg 0-0 stalemate, Montpelier were impressive in registering a 1-0 win in the return game.
We have been putting in a lot of hard work and that is what is now paying off for us, said Montpelier's prolific striker, Garth Johnson. Our aim is to win this title and then move on to secure a place in the National Premier League.
Solid
In the two previous meetings between the teams, which both competed in Zone B of the preliminary phase, Granville had a 1-0 win in one game while the other ended in an exciting 0-0 draw.
In terms of personnel, Granville look quite solid with the likes of former national player Jermaine 'Tuffy' Anderson, David Gilliard, skipper Rodney Hines, Jason Rose and Dillon Thelwell - all players with vast experience.
However, in the experienced Denton Vidal, the wily Johnson, Lenore Campbell and Ledron Smith, Montpelier have enough top-quality players to inspire confidence.
In addition, their quest to avenge their 1-0 loss should be a source of extra motivation.
Having lost Wadadah to relegation in the just-concluded 2006-07 NPL season, supporters of the two teams are hoping that their side will prevail and ultimately replace Wadadah.
