Harbour View and Sporting Central Academy will contest the second end-of-round final of the JFF/PLCA Under-21 competition at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex today, starting at 6:00 pm.
Harbour View coach Harold Thomas said his team has improved since the start of the second round and he is expecting that good form to carry over in the final.
“We are confident and we’ve been playing well and I think there has been a lot of improvement over the last few games. Our programme at Harbour View, like I suspect it is at Sporting, is one where the young players are exposed to senior team football so they are very seasoned and upbeat,” he said.
Harbour View, who have won the last two league titles, did not have the best of first rounds, but have since chalked up numerous victories to surge to pole position in the league.
The ‘Stars of the East’ topped the second round with 24 points and lead the overall standings with 44 from 22 matches.
The Clarendon-based Sporting Central added 20 points in the second round to finish behind Harbour View and are also second in the overall standings, trailing their eastern rivals by a single point.
The teams battled to a 0-0 stalemate in their league clash at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium last Friday, but Thomas told the Observer that the draw will not have any impact on today’s game.
“In any final it’s about the effort and fighting spirit that is there on the day and I think that any advantage for either team will come from the will power on the day. Given our long-term goal to retain the title, it would be a morale-booster to win (today),” Thomas said.
His Sporting Central counterpart, Nigel Stewart, has also expressed confidence and is determined to grab an end-of-round title after losing the first one to Portmore United.
“They are a good team and they have won the competition the last two seasons, but at the start of the season we set a plan to win the finals and to win the league. We got in the first final and we lost to Portmore so we are even further motivated to do well.
“We are a young and very rounded team and really depend on everybody to play their role. I don’t think we rely on any single player or position because it’s more of a team effort,” Stewart said.