East v West showdown
FROME, Westmoreland – Former champions FC Reno will be gunning to extend their good start in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) when they host high-flying UWI FC at the Frome Sports Complex on Sunday, starting at 3:30 pm.
Despite failing to score for the first time this season and being held 0-0 away to Boys’ Town on Sunday, FC Reno are in fourth place on eight points. The Westmoreland team is two places and two points behind UWI FC.
At the other end of the table, two-time champions Montego Bay United (MBU) and promoted Sandals South Coast will meet at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in the first of back-to-back western derbies; both are still searching for their first win.
Montego Bay United, who will play away to FC Reno next week, were battered 3-0 by UWI FC on Sunday, their third-straight loss, and are at the foot of the table on one point.
It’s the game at Frome, however, that will attract attention and will have the top two scorers in the competition on show — UWI FC’s Ryan Miller, who has five including a hat-trick against MBU on Sunday; and FC Reno’s Craig Foster who has four, despite being held off the scoresheet on Sunday.
FC Reno have won both games played at home so far, but UWI FC have also won their only away game.
After playing out a 2-2 draw in their first meeting in the 2015/16 season, UWI FC have won their last five games against FC Reno, conceding just two goals in the process.
FC Reno have failed to score against UWI FC since the 2015/16 season, after being shut out in all three meetings last season. But the Westmoreland team got off to a fast start this season and will be seeking to turn things around Sunday.
Meanwhile, at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, both MBU and Sandals South Coast are struggling.
But while promoted Sandals South Coast have drawn their last two games and are improving, MBU have lost their last three, matching their worst run ever in the competition, and are firmly rooted at the foot of the table.
The addition of several veteran players over the last three games have not helped as they have allowed six goals and have scored just two times in four games played.
On Sunday, MBU face an improving Sandals South Coast team that have grown leaps and bounds and should have beaten Cavalier SC last Sunday.
After wasting no fewer than three scoring chances late in the Cavalier game, Sandals South Coast’s coach Aaron Lawrence said they would be working on converting chances, and that could be bad news for MBU.
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