Portmore, Boys' Town in crucial clash

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Having battled hard to beat relegation only last season, second-place Portmore United could turn another big page on their continuing comeback story, when they host Boys' Town at Ferdie Neita Park today, knowing a win over the Red Brigade will put them within touching distance of the Digicel Premier League second end-of-round final.

With one round remaining after today's fixture, Portmore, the most impressive team of the round so far, are leading the pack with 19 points, two ahead of Sporting Central Academy and Arnett Gardens, another team which battled to avoid the drop last season.

The race, however, remains a tight one as should any of those teams drop points Tivoli, Harbour View and Boys' Town will be nipping at their heels, all currently locked on 14 points.

"The team is a much more cohesive unit when you compare it to last season, I think that has made the big difference for us," said Jeffrey Hewitt, assistant coach of Portmore United, for whom Ricardo Cousins scored in a 2-1 loss at Arnett on Sunday.

"As in any programme, you would want to attain as much as possible. The end-of-round final is not our ultimate goal, but we are there and are working towards that," he said.

"The Boys' Town team is a very confident bunch of players, they are creative and can be very dangerous on their day. However, our record in this round has been very good and we intend to keep it that way. If we can get a shutout and put away our chances, we will get the result that we want," he added.

Besides Cousins, Steven Morrissey, Eric Vernan and Trevol Smith are capable of unlocking the Boys' Town defence.

Despite Portmore currently finding themselves in a vein of good form and winning their last five games in a row, getting the better of Boys' Town will not be an easy task. The fact remains that while Boys' Town have been inconsistent, they have made it a habit of beating the big teams in recent games and could even be gaining some momentum following wins over Harbour View and their latest victims, Waterhouse, against whom Joel Williams scored late for a 1-0 win on Sunday.

A win over Portmore could also see Boys' Town, currently on 14 points, also put themselves into contention for a spot in the round final, should Sporting Central or Arnett Gardens slip up.

Boys' Town has got crucial goals from Williams in recent fixtures, but will also prove dangerous through Renae Lloyd, Michael Campbell, Dean Thompson and André Wheeler.

Damaged hopes

In their last encounter it was Boys' Town which took the lead at Collie Smith Drive, before Portmore came back to level the scores. That result damaged Boys' Town's hopes of booking a spot in the first end-of-round final and they could also have revenge on their mind coming into today's game.

The Junglists will also face a tough task to keep pace as they travel to the home of current overall Premier League leaders, Tivoli Gardens (37).

First round champions Tivoli are by no means out of contention for the second round final, as they are currently in fourth place on 14 points and could join Arnett with a win.

Sporting Central, who are ahead of Arnett on goal difference, will also have their hands full when they travel to Frome, facing a Reno team still smarting from a midweek loss to bottom place St Georges. And, while admitting that the prospect of a first ever end of round final is huge motivation, Sporting's manager Brandon Murray insists the team will remain focused.

"It is a big incentive for us we, but we don't want to be overwhelmed," Murray said.

"It would be a historic landmark for the club, making it to our first end-of-round final, but we just want to relax and play the kind of football that we are capable of. We just need to take it in stride."

Harbour View are also in with a shot at booking a spot in the end-of-round final, should either of the front-runners slip up, but must get a positive result away to Benfica.

Already basically out of contention but still very much in the running for the league title, Waterhouse, who are currently third overall, will have their hopes set on preventing St Georges from rebuilding their Lynch Park fortress. St Georges have won their last two home games.

Games on

• 5 p.m. Tivoli Gardens vs Arnett Gardens at Edward Seaga Sports Complex
• 7:30 p.m. Portmore United vs Boys' Town at Ferdie Neita Park
• 3 p.m. Benfica vs Harbour View at Drax Hall
• 3 p.m. Reno vs Sporting Central Academy at Frome Complex
• 3 p.m. Humble Lion vs Village United at Effortville Community Centre
• 6:30 p.m. St Georges Sports Club vs Waterhouse at Lynch Park