Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer

WITH TWO victories on the run following four losses in a row, Seba United will be in the spotlight in today's Wray and Nephew National Premier League in a game which could be dubbed the battle of the cities.

After raising the hopes of 'the West' with a win over pre-season favourites Portmore United, Montego Bay's Seba United found the going tough and only managed to regain their footing with a 2-1 win over Tivoli Gardens last Sunday. That was followed up by a mid-week win over bottom-of-the-table Naggo Head.

Today, the Geoffrey Maxwell-coached team will be up against Arnett Gardens of Kingston and St. Andrew, another team on the rebound, but confidence is still high in the camp of the Montego Bay side.

"We should be back at full strength, and if the team continues to improve in terms of coordination and chemistry then we should be able to give a good account of ourselves," said Maxwell, who once coached Arnett Gardens.

good players

"We are not underestimating Arnett. They have about six players which can hurt any team on any given day, but we have set ourselves an objective and if we secure full points against them then we could get up to third or fourth," he said.

For Seba's rise to become a reality, leaders Waterhouse and second-place Harbour View will have to beat or draw with Reno and Wadadah respectively. In their own game they would also have to have Damian Williams supporting the veteran Theodore Whitmore in midfield and the likes of Wilfred Smith will have to put away the chances created.

Defensively, Seba United will have to be at their best as Arnett Gardens have scored more goals than any team in the competition.

"We have scored the most goals overall so Seba will have to outscore us to win," said president of the Arnett Gardens Football Club, Patrick Roberts. Leon Strickland has six goals so far to be the leading scorer in the league, Jonothan Williams has three, Marcelino Blackburn has three and Kevin Wilson has two in three games," he said.

While Arnett Gardens are potent offensively, defensively they must be concerned as they have conceded as many goals as they have scored. Roberts acknowledged that both teams have their weaknesses and have had their down times but is hoping that his outfit will fare better.

"Both teams have had their bad times, but I am just hoping that we will be more consistent tomorrow. Our performance of late has to do with the whole chemistry that we are developing now. We are gelling more each game and we expect nothing different against Seba.

"It will not be a cakewalk, especially as we are travelling to Montego Bay and playing away. Despite the fact that we have not had the best record travelling and playing at Jarrett Park, we are going for a win, but a draw would not be bad," Roberts added.

Reno will have their second game at their alternate venue of STETHS but, unlike last Sunday, they are not expected to take all three points. Defending champions Waterhouse have just seized the lead and will pull out all stops not to surrender it to Harbour View who are just a point behind. Harbour View host Wadadah and will not want to make the same mistake twice by losing to a less fancied team at home.

promoted teams clash

The UWI Bowl will be the site of the clash between the promoted teams, August Town and Naggo Head. Based on their results so far and the fact that they are playing in their backyard, August Town should start favourites. If, however, Naggo Head can find the right blend of youth and experience, they could pull off the upset as they do have good players in their squad.

Portmore United are now playing like the team they are, and a win against the less than impressive Tivoli Gardens at Prison Oval today is not beyond them. A win for Tivoli will only come if there is marked improvement - even with the presence of Fabian Davis, Kasai Hinds and Roland Dean. Portmore have at their disposal the rejuvenated Carlington Smith, Kevin Deerr, Anthony Modeste and Jason Morrison.

Village United will be hoping for happier returns at their home ground today when they entertain Boys' Town, who lost their first game of the season on Wednesday to Portmore United.

While Boys' Town were losing, Village were busy pulling off a big upset over Harbour View and another win would see them overtake Boys' Town and move further away from the relegation zone.