Nelson and Harwood

TODAY'S Digicel Premier League 7:30p.m. clash at Ferdie Neita Park between hosts Portmore United and St Georges Sports Club will be crucial to the chances of either team qualifying for the first End of Round final.

Tivoli Gardens, last year's champions, are virtually assured of a spot in the final with a six-point gap on third-place Harbour View, plus a hefty goal difference of 12.

Hence, the battle appears to be for the second spot, which St Georges now hold on 18 points. That is two more than Harbour View, and five clear of Portmore United, the only other team that appears to have a real chance of making the final.

three points guaranteed

Only Wednesday's round remain in the 11-match first stanza and mathematically, Trelawny's Village United could join St Georges at 18, as three points are guaranteed for each win. Village securing the second position is quite farfetched, as such a scenario would require St Georges flopping one way with two losses and Village to shooting in the next direction with as many wins. Then there are the other teams also in contention, Portmore United and Harbour View, whose results would have to end up in the negative.

At least, the two clubs which have a peek at the final - Portmore and Village - get a fat chance today to have their say in the matter, as they will play host to St Georges and Harbour View, respectively.

Portmore, who ended with the same number of points as Tivoli but lost the title last season by virtue of an inferior goal difference, are still looking for a spark this season, registering only three wins in nine outings thus far.

They have neither played much nor been hot at home, registering only one win in three matches.

However, with many players in their team experienced at the international level, they are a quality unit and could produce under pressure. Roen Nelson, Wolry Wolfe, Steven Morrissey, Kevin Deerr and Anthony Modeste number among those who could make the difference.

As indicated by their position, St Georges have been quite consistent since the start of the competition, notching the second highest number of wins, five. Two have come on the road, where they have been quite good, as their only loss came in last Sunday's 0-1 finish at Tivoli, where they gave the champs a run for their money and may even have scored had it not been for off-target finishing, especially in the last quarter of the game when they really came into their own.

Damion Harwood has been their chief scorer, with Ricardo Scott and a couple others weighing in on the scoring, which evens out to just about a goal-a-game.

However, a key feature of their game has been defending, which has seen the Portland team concede a league-low three in their nine encounters. National defender Jermaine Taylor leads the unit which could hold the key to St Georges' end of round final aspirations, especially with Portmore struggling to hit the net this season.

concession tallies similar

Village United's scoring and concession tallies are dead similar to that of Portmore United, seven in each column. While winning only twice, the Trelawny team has made it difficult for opponents to win, with six draws counting among their 12-point tally.

They played goalless with Arnett last Sunday and as they are home for another mid-afternoon fixture again at Elletson Wakeland Community Centre, they will undoubtedly be seeking a better finish in what promises to be another difficult match.

Harbour View have scored almost twice as many goals (13) and ran up a nice record until midweek when they went down 2-3 to Tivoli Gardens, in a rescheduled fixture out east Kingston.

A slow start, which saw them conceding three unanswered goals, accounted for Harbour View's loss and they will be looking to report much sharper for the opening whistle in a match crucial to their end-of-round hopes.

Games on

Tivoli Gardens vs Rivoli United at Edward Seaga Sports Complex at 5 p.m.

Portmore United vs St Georges Sports Club at Ferdie Neita Park at 7:30 p.m.

Village United vs Harbour View at Elleston Wakeland Community Centre at 3 p.m.

Sporting Central Academy vs Boys' Town at Brancourt at 3 p.m.

Humble Lions vs Arnett Gardens at Effortville Community Centre at 3 p.m.

Waterhouse vs August Town at Waterhouse Mini Stadium at 6 p.m.

Standings

Digicel Premier League standings after matches played on Sunday.

(Tabulate under Teams, Play, Win, Draw, Lose, Goals For, Goals Against, Second Round Points, Points)