Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer 
Fabian Davis... in action.
WITH THE top two teams, Harbour View and Portmore United, inactive in today's Wray and Nephew National Premier League, Arnett Gardens will attempt to seize the opportunity to pull alongside the leaders.
In today's fixtures, with only five matches scheduled and all to begin 3:30 p.m., former champions Arnett Gardens, who started out badly before picking up slowly, host a
struggling Rivoli who are still without their former captain, leading goalscorer and inspiration Patrick Beech. After a solid second-half display last week against Village at Elliston Wakeland, they are expected to win comfortably.
Despite their troubles, Rivoli should consider themselves lucky, as they are in a far better position than the highly-fancied Village United of Trelwany.
Without a win in their three matches so far, they have taken on a personality more suited to their poorer cousins, Invaders.
Today, though, could be Village's day as they play away to the inconsistent Constant Spring. The timing could be bad for Village, however, as Constant Spring (four points) scored for the first time this season last week and it translated into a win over Reno. Village have not been playing badly, but they seem to have no appetite for goals.
At Prison Oval, it will be the matchup of the promoted teams and it could go either way. Playing with a lot of pride, Invaders have fought their way to four points and will be looking to increase their count when they meet Westmoreland's Reno. After a solid start with a win over Arnett Gardens, Reno have slowed down with a draw against Wadadah and a loss to Constant Spring.
The match of the day though is the clash of defending champions Tivoli Gardens and former champ-ions Waterhouse who will be playing at home. Matches between these two teams have always been keenly contested with the competition some times going behind the sidelines. That had the effect of forcing the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to schedule their matches for neutral grounds. All that changed last year however.
All that matters today is three points, said Tivoli Gardens coach Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey.
THREE POINTS
"As I have always said, I do not prepare my teams for any special games. Three points are three points and that is what we need. We do not over-emphasise the importance of a game against Waterhouse. We will approach it the same way as if we were preparing for Invaders or any other team," Bailey said.
His team, he believes, while not 100 per cent fit, is in good enough shape to get the better of Waterhouse. His confidence should be boosted by the return of last season's most valuable player Fabian Davis who will be making his first appearance of the season.
In addition to Davis there is Christopher Nicholas who "has been pronounced fit" and could be called upon if needed.
Waterhouse's coach, Peter Cargill, is similarly confident despite the fact that they dropped three vital points last week against Harbour View to be on four points.
"The week leading up to (today's) game has been very good. We have
experienced winning, losing and drawing this season but I believe the feeling among the players right now is quite good," said Cargill adding "we had a rewarding week of
training".
With a little bit more application on the field, according to Cargill, his team will be able to pull off the victory in front of their home crowd.
"Last week against Harbour View we had some good moments but ended up making some silly mistakes and as a result lost the match. What I hope though is that we will
continue creating the opportunities and scoring. If we do that we should be okay," he said.
Waterhouse should be helped by the return of midfielder Richard Edwards as well as Jamaica Under-20 forward Richard West. Irvino English, who has been coming off the bench so far this season, has recovered enough to play a full 90 minutes and could get that today. English should provide valuable leadership with the likes of Baris Johnson and Kevin Lamey who led the team in scoring last year.
TODAY'S GAMES
Waterhouse vs Tivoli Gardens at Waterhouse
Invaders vs Reno at Elliston Wakeland
Arlington vs Wadadah at Prison Oval
Arnett Gardens vs Rivoli at Tony Spaulding Sports Complex
Constant Spring vs Village at Constant Spring
All game start at 3:30 p.m.
