East Kingston rivals Santos FC and Mountain View FC of Zone B will clash in the feature encounter of the Magnum KSAFA Super League night-time double-header at Harbour View Mini Stadium today beginning at 8:30 pm.

The opening match-up at 6:30 pm is a Zone A battle that pits Real Mona against Maxfield Park FC, who are also making their debut in this season’s campaign.

This is the third night-time double-header, a format for this season’s Magnum KSAFA Super League that will see games being played at Harbour View Mini Stadium on Tuesdays and Fridays, and at Constant Spring Complex on Saturdays.

Santos have been a household name in local football, having won the first four National Premier League titles. They won another when they ruled the roost in local football back then in the 1970s and early ’80s.

However, they have been playing in Corporate Area football’s leading competition for years, where they have built a hard core match-up against Mountain View FC, who are a neighbouring team and both have players living in the same communities.

Jahmiah Pettigrew, head coach at Mountain View, attested to their battles that have been feisty at times, noting that they want to give credence to their abilities.

“We expect to give a good account of ourselves tomorrow,” Pettigrew said in an interview yesterday. “It’s a rivalry game between Santos and Mountain View, whenever these two teams meet it’s always intense and a lot of passion is shown.

“We’re looking forward to the game and looking forward to the season, playing some good football,” added Pettigrew. “We just want to take the season one step at a time, one game at a time and meet some small objectives. Our main objective is to finish in the top four and take it from there.”

The top four gives each team not just a semi-final spot, but a live kick at the title. Santos won it several years back and ultimately got a chance in the all-island four-team Confederation champions play-off for a spot in the final.

They have not reached that place since and in an effort to do so, Santos FC have added numbers to what veteran head coach Carlton “Spanner” Dennis labelled a “fairly young team”.

It includes the likes of Oneeko Allen, the leading goalscorer for Manning Cup champions Kingston College, and Tremaine Simpson, who will team up with core representatives Lance Rutherford, Sherton McPherson, Jeffrey Grant and Sheldon Jones.

“It’s a balanced unit and we’re hoping everyone will pull their weight and we can get a good result,” said Dennis.

As for Mountain View FC, their team has been growing for years.

“The core of the team is still made up of the players who won the Major League and got promotion back into the Super League in the 2016-17 season,” shared Pettigrew.

They include Dwayne Coley, the goalkeeper who was voted MVP, midfielder Dwayne Small, Odayne Jack, one of their leading goalscorers and Renardo Vassell, the captain of the club.

“It’s a mixture of experience and young players … so we’re eagerly anticipating the season to play some good football and make the Mountain View community proud of these players,” said Pettigrew.