Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer
THE SPOTLIGHT will be on Collie Smith Drive today when neighbours and rivals Boys' Town and Arnett Gardens go head-to-head in the Cash Plus Premier League.
The Collie Smith clash will take place at 3:30 p.m., the same time as the match-up between August Town and St Georges.
Boys' Town and Arnett Gardens have met twice this season. In the first game, Arnett Gardens won 2-0 at Collie Smith Drive. The second encounter saw Boys' Town turn the tables 1-0 at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex. This is a tie-breaker.
A number of things have changed since the first two encounters, among them the return of Jerome Waite as coach of Arnett Gardens along with former players and former Jamaica representatives Onandi Lowe and Fabian Davis as well as the departure of Leon Strickland. Lowe and Davis have shown that they are still able to cut it at this level.
From Boys' Town's position, their top player last season, George Vernal, has returned along with the dreadlocked Denzil Watson and the impressive youngster Renae Lloyd. All three have lifted the team significantly.
More power
Today, both teams have more power and, while their talent level does not seem to be that far apart, their positions in the table do not demonstrate this. While Boys' Town are fourth overall with 38 points and second in the third round with nine points from three games, Arnett Gardens are almost a mirror image, with just four teams below them.
Arnett are on 29 points, the same as the rising Village and Sporting Central, both with inferior goal differences. That puts them nine points behind neighbours Boys' Town. In terms of third-round standings, Arnett Gardens have fared a little better, sitting in the middle of the pack with five points from three games and are yet to lose a game.
Goals
Interestingly, while Boys' Town hold a superior position in the overall standings, they have scored just 21 goals and conceded 20 to Arnett Gardens' 25 and 23. In the third round, Boys' Town have scored five and have not conceded any, while Arnett Gardens have scored six and conceded two.
In the second game of the afternoon, August Town, who sit at the bottom of the table, host St Georges at UWI. August Town on Sunday went down to Village United 1-0 at Elliston Wakeland Centre to continue a winless streak which started in the second round. They were further handicapped by the resignation of coach Hugh McCarthy last Saturday.
On Sunday, they clearly outplayed Village United and were unlucky not to score. According to stand-in assistant coach Matthew Wallace, that has been the pattern of their play, to outplay teams but fail to convert chances, a feature he conceded must improve for the team to avoid relegation.
St Georges have done reasonably well all season but must be eager to return to their winning ways following a rare home loss on Sunday to Seba United, the first team to beat them at home. St. Georges have also been poor travellers and could find August Town, if they show up with a similar attitude, difficult to beat.
STANDINGS
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Portmore | 26 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 37 | 19 | 18 | 47 |
| Tivoli | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 29 | 3 | 46 |
| Waterhouse | 26 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 33 | 26 | 7 | 39 |
| Boys' Twn | 25 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 38 |
| Harbour View | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 33 | 27 | 6 | 37 |
| Seba United | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 36 | 35 | 1 | 34 |
| St Georges | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 25 | 5 | 33 |
| Arnett Gardens | 25 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 25 | 23 | 2 | 29 |
| Village United | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 27 | 30 | -3 | 29 |
| Sporting Central | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 31 | 41 | -10 | 29 |
| Reno | 26 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 28 | 38 | -10 | 27 |
| August Town | 25 | 5 | 6 | 14 | 21 | 39 | -18 | 21 |
Today's games
August Town vs St Georges at UWI 3:30 p.m.
Boys' Town vs Arnett Gardens at Collie Smith Drive 3:30 p.m.
Arnett are on 29 points, the same as the rising Village and Sporting Central, both with inferior goal differences. That puts them nine points behind neighbours Boys' Town.
