Kwesi Mugisa, Sports Reporter

JUREIDINI

DEFENDING CARIBBEAN Club champions Harbour View will face an uphill battle when they tackle Mexican side Pumas Unam in a decisive CONCACAF Champions league tie at the Estadio Olímpico in Mexico City at 10 tonight.

Having seen the first leg of the tie cancelled following the effects of Tropical Storm Gustav, it will truly be a do-or-die situation for the 'Stars of the East', who must now get a favourable result to advance to the next round.

Originally scheduled for last Thursday, the fixture between Harbour View and the Mexican club was pushed forward to Friday due to effects of the storm. However, a subsequent tour of the facilities on that day by the match commissary saw the surface declared unplayable, forcing CONCACAF general secretary Chuck Blazer to announce the cancellation of the fixture.

Home-field advantage

Despite admitting that the loss of the home-field advantage was a disappointment, Harbour View general manager, Clyde Jureidini, insisted the club would attempt to make the best of the situation.

"Well, we are just going to be looking to go to Mexico and give a good account of ourselves," Jureidini said.

"We haven't given up. We will be going out there to do our best to come away with a favourable result," he said.

The away-goal rule will be in effect for the CONCACAF league and a draw would be good enough to see the Jamaica team advance to the next round. Following less-than-satisfactory results against top-quality teams recently, which saw Harbour View trounced 5-0 by DC United back in March, they will be hoping that the addition of experienced Brazilian coach Waldemar De Oliviera will lead them to better performances.

Oliviera has had stints at Brazilian clubs Flamengo, Sao Paulo and Santos as well as being national coach of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

However, the experienced Mexican side will be a tough team to beat, having already captured the regional title on three occasions.