AdrianFrater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

SPORTING CENTRAL, joint leaders with St. George's after two rounds of matches, will be gunning for their second win in the four-team Wray & Nephew NPL play-offs this afternoon when they battle Granville at the Sam Sharpe Teachers' College Grounds in Montego Bay at 3:30 p.m.

In the other third-round game slated for this afternoon at the Edward Seaga Stadium in West Kingston, Eastern Confederation champions St. George's, fresh from their mid-week win against Granville, will battle struggling Police National, who have lost both games they have played.

Despite playing on the road, a confident Brandon Murray, the manager of Sporting Central team, has made it clear that their plan is to take all three points from Granville, who are seeking to rebound after their loss to St. George's.

no room for complacency

"Although we are leading the standings, there is absolutely no room for complacency because we still have another four games to go," said Murray, whose team drew 1-1 with St. George's in their first game and then blanked Police National 2-0. "Our aim is to win the four remaining games." Granville, who performed below par in losing 1-0 to St. George's, plans to bounce back with a bang against Sporting Central and, according to coach Tracey Reid, the team is determined not to drop any more points.

"The loss to St. George's has opened the eyes of the players and they now realise that fooling around carries a price," said Reid.

"We will be taking a no-nonsense approach against Sporting Central and we are quite confident that we will come out victorious." In their bid to emulate St. George's mid-week success, Sporting Central will be banking heavily on the silky smooth Cornel Learmond and the speedy Oneike Ford, who got the goals against Police National on Wednesday.

For their part, Granville will be aiming to neutralise them through the explosive power of striker Jermaine Anderson and wily midfielder Jason Rose.

cautious approach

While Police National are not considered a potent opponent, St. George's coach, Donavan Duckie, said his team will be taking a cautious approach into the game, noting that when a team has nothing to lose, that is the time it usually performs at its best.

"When I was with Star Cosmos in 2002, we lost our first two games and then won four straight to qualify for the Premier League, so I would be foolish to write off the police team," said Duckie. "I know we are good enough to win this game but we will be very cautious as our opponents might be wounded but they are not out."

Despite their poor showing to date, Police National's coach, Calvin Lewis, has made it clear his team is not about to roll over and die. In fact, he is hoping to get his side's campaign back on track this afternoon with a win against St. George's.

"We are down but we are not out,"said Lewis, "While we basically have nothing to lose, three points from this game could pull us back into contention."