Embattled Harbour View to jump at chance to move up
HARBOUR View FC have the chance to jump within a point of fourth position when they host Sporting Central FC in a rescheduled Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) game at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium.
Kick-off is slated for 7:00 pm.
The teams’ midweek fixture two weeks ago was called off at the halfway mark due to a power outage at Harbour View’s home venue. Sporting Central trailed 0-1 at the time.
Former Premier League champions Harbour View are sixth in the 12-team standings with 37 points from 25 matches.
They are four points behind Humble Lion FC, who currently occupy the fourth and final spot for progression to the semi-final stage, and are just one adrift of fifth-placed Tivoli Gardens FC with only seven match days remaining in the preliminary phase.
On the other hand, Sporting Central, who have been lingering close to relegation peril for much of the campaign, are in 10th place on 27 points from 25 matches. The two teams in the RSPL drop zone are Reno FC (24 points) and Barbican FC (21 points)
Nigel Stewart, head coach of Sporting Central, said the 1-3 home loss to Waterhouse FC in their previous outing contained positive moments which provide hope for the Harbour View test.
“It was more our fault than what Waterhouse did that made us lose the game. We have to go at Harbour View hard and don’t make the mistakes we made in the Waterhouse game. They [Harbour View] are a good team and they are going to come out and play hard because they also need the points,” he told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.
Stewart added that he hopes his team has learnt from the unfinished encounter two weeks ago.
Ludlow Bernard, the recently appointed interim coach of Harbour View, was left disappointed with the fitness levels of his players after they toiled to beat cellar team Barbican 2-0 on Sunday in his first game in charge.
He said he and his staff will be doing all they can to get more from the players.
“We have to do better and clearly there is a lot of work to be done. I’m a bit disappointed in the physical condition of the players, but we have the game against Sporting Central in midweek and we are aiming for another win,” he said on Sunday.
Before the victory against Barbican, the Harbour View team, guided by former coach Andrew Hines, had failed to win in six previous outings, including three straight defeats.
— Sanjay Myers