PREMIER LEAGUE BLUES
After a lukewarm first round, the western teams competing in the Red Stripe Premier League are now hoping for improved showing in the nation’s top football competition.
Montego Bay United, Reno FC and newcomers Sandals South Coast FC are sitting in the lower half of the 12-team standing. However, Sandals, following a 1-0 win over Boys’ Town on Sunday, are clinging to hopes that it could be a change in fortunes.
“We have to now make a decision as to where we go from today’s game, as this is the second round and we would have learnt from the first round,” said manager André Palmer after his team’s win over Boys’ Town.
In their 12 games to date, Sandals have recorded three draws and seven losses, scoring only seven goals and conceding 21. They are in 11th position on nine points, two more than Boys’ Town.
INDIFFERENT SEASON
Seventh-place Montego Bay United have so far had an indifferent season. They are on 15 points, just out of a play-off spot.
Assistant coach Dillon Thelwell said his team is still seeking to find the chemistry between the senior and new players.
“I don’t think we started the competition the way we wanted to as we are in a rebuilding process, but I think, over the last seven game, things have looked up,” said Thelwell.
The third western Jamaica team, Reno, is best placed in the league. They are currently in fifth place on 19 points. Striker Craig Foster told the WESTERN STAR he thinks the first round was good for the Westmoreland-based club.
“We have a goal from the beginning of the season to finish in the top six, so the first round was good for Reno, although it wasn’t easy,” said Foster, who is Reno’s leading goalscorer on six goals.