TG, SCA in marquee DPL match-up
HIGH-SCORING Tivoli Gardens hunt the scalp of free-flowing Sporting Central Academy in the marquee match-up of this afternoon’s Digicel Premier League (DPL) schedule.
In other games: Waterhouse travel to Benfica; Harbour View host St George’s; Boys’ Town tackle Humble Lion; Village United play Portmore United and Reno take on Arnett Gardens.
Leaders Tivoli, on 26 points, turned in a five-star performance in dismissing Benfica 5-0 last week and will be looking for another sterling performance as they seek win number nine.
The West Kingston outfit have rattled up 22 goals from 12 games, the most in the DPL, while conceding just six, the least in the DPL.
The prolific Devon Hodges seems to have found his range at Tivoli, netting five times already, and will prove a handful for the Sporting defenders.
But the man the Clarendon outfit should fear most is playmaker Keammar Daley, who has grown tremendously in that role behind the strikers, pulling the strings while finding the net three times.
Sporting, lying seventh on 16 points, must, however, be respected, especially playing on their lush Brancourt turf.
They are a talented bunch and their free-flowing style and possession game similar to that of English club Arsenal have already caused problems for opposing teams, and today should be no different.
Second-placed Waterhouse, on 25 points, seem to have fallen on difficult times following an internal problem surrounding head coach Baris Johnson, but they must quickly put that behind them and refocus for this away match against Benfica.
Waterhouse were swamped 5-1 in the End-of-Round final against Tivoli, then suffered their first home defeat — 0-1 against Sporting.
However, the Drewsland team is a quality one, and is expected to rebound.
The St Ann-based Benfica, who are sixth on 17 points, suffered a severe setback last week after crashing 0-5 to Tivoli, but could prove a different prospect at home.
Champion Harbour View, sitting in fifth spot on 17 points, must start a winning run against bottom-placed St Georges — on eight — to keep their title hopes alive.
The ‘Stars of the East’ are nine points off the lead and cannot afford to any further slip-ups. Their creativity has been hampered by an injury to the mercurial Jermaine Hue, and they could be in for another tough night at the Compound.
St Georges defeated Boys’ Town 1-0 and ended a five-match losing streak under new coach Geoffrey Maxwell and will be looking to build on that.
The Portland outfit is firmly at the bottom of the 12-team standings with eight points, but are expected to test the champions in the late kick-off.
Third-placed Portmore United, on 20 points, should feel confident of seeing off a Village team that is struggling in 10th spot on 12 points — a team they blanked 3-0 in the first round.
Fourth-placed Boys’ Town, on 20, could face a stiff challenge at home against Humble Lion who are 11th on 11 points.
It should be an even affair at Frome between eighth- and ninth-placed teams Reno and Arnett Gardens, both on 14 points.
Arnett handed new coach Paul “Tegat” Davis his first win from two games and will be aiming to keep their two-match unbeaten run going.
Reno have lost their last three games and are due for a win. The Westmoreland team could therefore come out blazing from all angles.
Today’s schedule:
3:00 pm Reno vs Arnett @ Frome
3:00 pm Boys Town vs Humble Lion @ Boys’ Town
3:00 pm Sporting vs Tivoli @ Brancourt
3:00 pm Benfica vs Waterhouse @ Drax Hall
6:00 pm Village vs Portmore @ Jarrett Park
6:30 pm Harbour View vs St Georges @ Harbour View