C. Spring go after Village

Left to right: Dawes and Boyd

Nodley Wright, Staff Reporter

CONSTANT SPRING will attempt to get their National Premier League season back on track this afternoon when they host Trelawny's Village at 3:30 in one of five quality matches set to take place today.

Of the five games, three will take place in Kingston and St. Andrew.

Pre-season favourites Harbour View, who are enjoying their richest form of the season, host Hazard a team which now seems to be a haven for national players and those aspiring for that status.

The number of national representatives of Hazard is set to grow with sweeper/central midfielder Chris Dawes set to take the field for them.

At Railway Oval, Tivoli Gardens, who have been enriched by the form of the young strike force of Christopher Nicholas, Dwayne Richards and Roland Dean, go for another victory against Duhaney Park, a team fighting a losing battle for respectability in the competition.

At Ferdie Neita Park the matchup will be between two teams heading towards different ends of the table.

Arnett Gardens, who won the first-round final, now find themselves fifth on the table a place behind their hosts Waterhouse. Prior to last week's home loss to Harbour View, they occupied the top position while Waterhouse climbed from sixth to fourth following their win over Constant Spring.

The return of Damion Powell and his increased communication with teammates such as Irvino English, Kevin Lamey and Alberto Fray has served them well while the Arnett Gardens team appears to be playing the role of spectators while Walter Boyd does his thing. Without help for him today, Waterhouse will cause some hurt.

At Jarrett Park will be the battle of the western giants Wadadah and Reno. Though both teams are closer to the bottom end of the table, the match should be no less competitive. Both teams have not lived up to expectations and a victory would be a confidence-booster.

In the match of the day, Village United under new coach Geoffrey Maxwell will set about consolidating their position in the country's top league.

A point of interest in this game is that Maxwell prior to his less than a week stint at Duhaney Park, assisted Constant Spring. His knowledge of them could cost Constant Spring.

"We are coming with the intention to win," a confident Maxwell said of today's game.

"I have a pretty good idea about Constant Spring and know (their coach) Danny Lyn very well," he said.

Maxwell sees this match as one of four they have to win if Village are to be contenders in the final round of the competition.

"As I am looking at our position in the league right now, if we win four of the remaining five games we have then that will give us 12 out of a possible 15 points. This will put us in a good position for the next round."

Injuries could play an important role in the outcome of the game for Village. According to Maxwell, no less than four of his starters are injury worries. Among them are captain Mark Williams, midfielders Shane Crawford and Ian McAnuff. Forward Teofore Bennett is struggling with a thigh strain.

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