Waterhouse look to delight home fans
WITH THREE points tucked away following their away win against Harbour View, Waterhouse will be aiming to replicate that result on home soil when they host Tivoli Gardens today in the Red Stripe Premier League.
The team which, to some, miraculously survived relegation last season, due mainly to the goals of veteran Jermain ‘Tuffy’ Anderson, owed Sunday’s victory to the youngster who replaced him when he got injured – Rodave Murray. That victory stopped a slide of four successive losses and eased a little bit of pressure on the club leadership.
“The team has been struggling to get points on the board since the competition started and that win gave us some ease in terms of pressure,” Coach Marvin Tate, who took over as coach in the off season, said.
He added: “Outside of that, it could not have come at a better time. We have been at a low point since the death of Dominic James, who was a part of our club. The community put a lot of pressure on us in terms of winning, but we came up with the goods at the right time.”
According to Tate, one of the keys to victory then was the presence and contribution of the senior players leading up to the game.
“I must say, though, that with the presence of the senior players such as Weston Forrest, Anderson, Irvino English, among others, we were really composed and looking to turn things around. Coming up to face Tivoli, the same mood is in the camp,” said Tate.
Today’s opponents, Tivoli Gardens, will present a different dynamic as they have won all their away matches so far and have not recorded any victories at home. “We anticipate a good game. Based on the result of their last game, Waterhouse should come out blazing as they would have earned some amount of confidence from that and playing at home should help them as well.
“It seems as if we do better away from home. We are yet to win a match at home, but we have won our matches away so this is a plus for us and we are looking for a positive result,” Coach
Omar Edwards stated.
Training has been positive leading up to this game, Edwards said, pointing out that only one player will not be at 100 per cent.
“Our training has been positive and the players are upbeat. We have only one player, Miguel Ricketts, one of our strikers, who had a knock, but it is nothing major,” added Edwards, who will be looking to the experienced Jermaine Johnson, Shavar Campbell, Marvin Stewart and the rejuvenated veteran goalkeeper Edsel Scott to provide leadership on the field.
Waterhouse, on the other hand, may have to utilise Anderson from the bench if his fractured nose allows. They will also be without Kevin Kellyman, Carlos Wright, Ramone McGregor, Jahmika Hutchinson and, possibly, Kacy Bromfield, who has the flu.
Those injuries could see captain Romario Campbell benefit from the presence of Forrest and English earlier than initially planned.
In the Clarendon derby, leaders Humble Lion could get the better of Portmore United to consolidate their position at the top of the table, while Arnett Gardens will welcome the return of Coach Jerome Waite from national duties as they seek to continue their ascent at the expense of UWI FC.
The free-scoring Jamalco and the impressive Rohan Richards will be aiming to rebound from last week’s loss to Boys’ Town when they entertain Reno, who are themselves in need of a return to winning ways.
Defending champions Montego Bay United should be boosted by the return of national trio Dwayne Ambusley, Dino Williams and Allan Ottey for the visit of the struggling Harbour View while the MaverleyHughenden versus Boys’ Town matchup should be an interesting affair.
TODAY’S GAMES:
3 p.m: Portmore United vs Humble Lion – Juici Park, Clarendon 3:30 p.m: UWI FC vs Arnett Gardens – UWI Bowl, Mona 3:30 p.m: Jamalco vs Reno – Wembley Centre Excellence 3:30 p.m: Montego Bay United vs Harbour View – Wespow Park 3:30 p.m: MaverleyHughenden vs Boys’ Town – Constant Spring Complex 3:30 p.m: Waterhouse vs Tivoli Gardens – Drewsland Stadium
POINTS STANDING
PWDLGFGAGDPts Humble Lion 5 4 0 1 6 2 4 12 Arnett 5 3 1 1 5 2 3 10 UWI FC 5 3 1 1 4 4 0 10 Jamalco 5 3 0 2 9 4 5 9 MoBay United 5 3 0 2 7 2 5 9 Tivoli 5 2 1 2 6 4 2 7 Portmore 5 2 1 2 4 5 -1 7 Reno 5 2 1 2 2 3 -1 7 Maverly-Hug 5 1 3 1 6 6 0 6 Boys’ Town 5 1 0 4 4 8 -4 3 Waterhouse 5 1 0 4 3 7 -4 3 H.View 5 1 0 4 2 8 -6 3