Nodley Wright | Jamaica Gleaner
The battle for leadership of the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) is between current leaders Montego Bay United and defending champions Harbour View, both of whom play away today to less-fancied opponents.
Montego Bay United lead the table with 19 points, two more than Harbour View, while Tivoli Gardens and Humble Lion are a further three points behind.
Harbour View, having knocked off Humble Lion and Cavalier without conceding a goal, will head to the UWI Bowl to take on the promoted August Town, while Montego Bay United will journey to Clarendon to face former leaders and early-season pacesetters Humble Lion.
August Town, the last team in the league to lose their unbeaten status, have not managed a win since, and will find it difficult against the defending champions who, based on form and the make-up of their squad, should be too strong for the promoted team.
FOUND RIGHT GEAR
The defending champions seem to have hit the right gear at the right time, as not only are they scoring goals, they are defending well, with Dicoy Williams and Montrose Phinn looking close to their best, which should make them better able to deal with anything thrown at them by Kevin Wilson and his attacking partners.
On their day, Humble Lion can compete with the best. They have not been having many of their best days of late as luck and form seem to be deserting them. To make matters worse, Humble Lion will be without Wolry Wolfe, the man who controls the tempo of the team. With him out, the advantage should go to Montego Bay United, who have shown that they can play well at home. Waterhouse suffered at their hands and Humble Lion could, too, if the big three of Dino Williams, Leslie St Fleur and Allan Ottey click.
Home team Boys’ Town will be seeking to pile on the misery on the Calvin Lewis-coached Portmore United when both teams meet at Collie Smith Drive. A loss for Portmore United would condemn them to their sixth loss of the season and cement their place at the bottom of the table, while a win would see them draw level on points with 11th-place Arnett Gardens, who play Waterhouse on Monday.
- TODAY’S GAMES
3 p.m.: August Town vs Harbour View – UWI Bowl
3 p.m.: Boys Town vs Portmore United – Collie Smith Complex
3 p.m.: Humble Lion vs Montego Bay United – Effortville Community Centre
3 p.m.: Tivoli Gardens vs Sporting Central – Edward Seaga Sports Complex
4:30 p.m.: Cavalier vs Rivoli United – Stadium East
- Tomorrow’s game
7 p.m: Waterhouse vs Arnett Gardens – Drewsland Stadium
- Points Standings
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
MoBay United 9 6 1 2 14 5 9 19
H View 9 5 2 2 10 5 5 17
Tivoli 9 3 5 1 9 7 2 14
Humble Lion 9 4 2 3 8 7 1 14
Waterhouse 9 4 1 4 8 8 0 13
Cavalier 9 4 1 4 5 8 -3 13
Rivoli 9 3 3 3 5 8 -3 12
August Town 9 2 4 3 8 9 -1 10
Boys’ Town 9 2 4 3 10 11 -1 10
Sporting 9 3 1 5 10 14 -4 10
Arnett 9 2 3 4 13 12 1 9
Portmore 9 1 3 5 4 10 -6 6