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Roen Nelson... a key figure up front for Portmore today against Waterhouse.

Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer

LEADERS PORTMORE United will seek to extend their lead in the Cash Plus Premier League (CPPL) today when the second series of matches in the third round of the four-round league kicks off today.

For them to achieve their objective, they will have to get the better of a Waterhouse team that must be smarting from a Jamaica Football Federation ruling which killed off plans of a continuation of the Jackie Bell KO final and awarded the game to Harbour View as well as a loss to Seba United.

Though seven points separate first-place Portmore United and third-place Waterhouse, a clash between two teams is never easy to call and today should be no different. Waterhouse have had the measure of Portmore United this season and should be fancying their chances again.

In Kevin Lamey, Leon Strickland, Jomo Gordon and Newton Sterling, Waterhouse have one of the most formidable attacks in the league, but they will go up against a team with one of the best defences in the competition.

Any club would be happy to have the likes of Dwayne Kerr or Shawn Sawyers keeping goal while Anthony Modeste, Adrien Reid, Tyrone Sawyers and Ryan Powell are difficult to match.

Attacking players

Portmore themselves have an attack to be envied with the likes of Roen Nelson, Kevin Deerr, Steven Morrissey and young Ashton Bennett challenging for places. These players are backed up by goalscoring midfielders Rudolph Austin, Ricardo Cousins and Eric Vernon. With that knowledge, Waterhouse coach Wayne Fairclough is expecting a hard game.

"It should be a tough encounter but we are looking forward to giving a good account of ourselves and possibly coming away with the three points," Fairclough said.

"Yes, we are coming off an unfortunate situation and a loss, but those things are behind us now. What is important is that we put in a strong performance so that we stay in touch with the leaders," said Fairclough, who will have to do without defender Oneil Thomas and the injured Weston Forrest.

Those injuries should not significantly affect them as it will have the likes of Irvino English, Damion Powell, Vincent Earle and Desmond Breakenridge to call on.

Harbour View, following their loss to St Georges, should be expected to return to winning ways when they host Reno at the Harbour View Mini Stadium. Their chances should be enhanced by the return of Jermaine Hue. Reno are a tough team and, especially with Ricardo Scott returning to action, the visitors could be competitive.

Arnett Gardens have not lost a match since the return of Jerome Waite as coach and their rebuilding process is expected to continue today. Waite has great motivational skills and the addition of veterans Onandi Lowe and Fabian Davis in addition to Kevin Wilson, young Horace Sharpe and Cornell Chin-Sue, should give them just a bit too much talent for the Christopher Dawes-coached Sporting Central.

Seba, Boys' Town clash

Renae Lloyd, Denzil Watson and George Vernal have added a great deal of life to the Boys' Town aggregation, which was overly reliant on the ageing feet of Oneil McDonald and Fabian Watkins. With these players, Boys' Town can be competitive against any team and even with the belief now being demonstrated by Seba players such as Mario Samuels, Ricardo Geddes and Keniel Moodie, emulating the Under-21s 3-0 win over the senior Boys' Town could be a bit of a stretch.

Following their humiliating loss to Village last week, Tivoli Gardens, if they are to truly challenge for the title, will need to start winning again, sooner than later. If that is to be achieved sooner, then they could not have asked for a better team than August Town, the side languishing at the bottom of the table. Home advantage should also favour Tivoli Gardens against a supposedly deflated August Town.

Village United have begun to build something resembling a fortress at Elliston Wakeland Centre and in the process, inched themselves off the bottom of the table. Playing away at Lynch Park will be a big test for them to see if their improvement is real, especially as St Georges rarely lose at home.

TODAY'S GAMES