Harbour View seek to regain lead
HARBOUR View can regain sole leadership of the Digicel Premier League (DPL) when they face St Georges in one of two rescheduled games this evening, starting at 7:00 at Harbour View.
The other game will see the bottom-of-the-table clash between Portmore United and Arnett Gardens at Ferdie Neita Park, starting at 3:30.
Tivoli and Harbour View are locked on 51 points, with Tivoli having a better goal difference.
Although a draw would put Harbour View back in front, coach Donovan Hayles is aiming for maximum points.
The ‘Stars of the East’ have an impressive record against the Portlanders, who continue to dip in form since their first End-of-Round final.
But despite this, Hayles is gearing his team for another difficult assignment, with winning his only intention after dropping three points to August Town last weekend — a result which dropped them to second place.
“After last week’s loss we want to get a victory right away as that would get your mental state and the quest for the championship back in shape,” Hayles remarked.
“We didn’t look bad in the last game, but the result went against us… but we can take heart from how we played and we have the confidence to bounce back and get back to winning ways,” he said.
Meanwhile, two of the nation’s strongest clubs, Arnett and Portmore, clash as they battle relegation.
Arnett, who escaped the jaws of demotion at the 11th hour and against the odds last season, find themselves a drop candidate again this year.
The man who masterminded their survival back then, Fabian Davis, has come under heavy criticism this season after the team failed to live up to expectations.
Arnett’s new assistant coach Hugh Blair believes that even if they are at the bottom of the table at the end of this round, they can still avoid relegation.
“There is also the bottom six to play, so it only looks that way on the front page now,” he stated, adding that the team won their last match against Rivoli and are growing in confidence.
“We’re on the verge of lifting up our heads and lifting the team, but despite Portmore’s difficulties, we can’t watch the fact that they’re doing badly; we have to stay focused because we’re working hard to try and get out of the bottom six,” he added.
Portmore, on the other hand, have found themselves in a very unfamiliar second-from-bottom position.
Since the club changed its name from Hazard United and moved to the ‘Sunshine City’ in 2003, they have been one of the main contenders for the title every year.
But this season they have found winning difficult to come by, prompting the club’s management to acquire higly-rated schoolboy coach Neville ‘Bertis’ Bell to guide them through the remainder of the campaign.
The move has resulted in merely one win, two defeats and a draw; however, Bell does not believe the team will be relegated under his charge.
The charismatic coach says the team has the quality players to do well and it’s just a matter of getting them to play with confidence.