Champions Boys' Town start defence against Lions

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Defending champions Boys' Town will kick off their quest to retain the Flow Champions Cup title, and win the trophy for a third straight time, when they tackle Humble Lions in an All-Premier League clash in the competition's Round-of-16 stage today.

The matchup, which will kick off at Collie Smith Drive at 3 p.m., will be a rematch of the 2010 final, which saw Boys' Town forced to reclaim the lead twice in order to eventually get the better of the first-time all-island KO finalists 3-2.

However, now finding themselves at the foot of the league table and in the thick of the fight for survival, the team's priorities may be a bit different, but that aside, Humble Lions' coach, Lenworth Hyde Sr, insists a positive result in the fixture could be good tonic for the team's morale.

"A positive result could be a good morale booster for the team. I think we played well on the weekend, we didn't score but I liked the team's performance. It will be a tough game tomorrow, but another solid performance against Boys' Town could give us a lift heading into the final set of games (Premier League)," Hyde said.

However, with several key games to come, Hyde admits that he will make alterations to the squad ahead of the Cup tie.

"We take the fixture very seriously, but we will make changes to the squad and give a few players a rest, with so many big games to come."

On all three occasions that the teams have met this season, however, it has been the Red Brigade who have been on the winning end, albeit by a one-goal margin.

In another all-Premier League clash two struggling teams, St Georges Sports Club and Waterhouse, will meet at Waterhouse Mini Stadium.

Waterhouse, who recently parted ways with former head coach Baris Johnson, won Sunday to break a trend of losing their previous four games to be virtually out of the running for the league title.

Hence, they could see the Flow Cup as a last chance to win some silverware this season, which should serve as a motivating factor.

St Georges, in the meantime, have also found themselves in the thick of the relegation scrap and could also see the competition as a means of gaining momentum.

In other fixture Arnett Gardens, who have already been beaten in one final this season, will fancy their chances of advancing to the quarter-final when they tackle Manchester's Downs at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.

In the day's other game, Monymusk will tackle Frazer's Whip at the Monymusk Sports Complex.

Today's Games

• 6 p.m. Arnett vs Downs
• 3 p.m. Boys' Town vs Humble Lions
• 3 p.m. Monymusk vs Frazer's Whip
• 6 p.m. Waterhouse vs St Georges