St Catherine derby takes spotlight in RSPL
THE ROYAL Lakes Complex should be rocking this afternoon when home team Dunbeholden host defending champions Portmore United in a St Catherine derby in one of five matches on today in the final game of round one.
Dunbeholden, one of two promoted teams, are sitting at the bottom of the table, but they will be thinking that they have a puncher’s chance of taking down their mighty neighbours. To convince themselves of this possibility, they will be looking to the result obtained by fellow promoted team Mount Pleasant FC on the opening day of the competition.
That view could be countered by the fact that Portmore United will not be caught cold a second time. Captain Ricardo Morris and fellow attacker Jovan East will be absent due to national duties, but Portmore United should have more than enough ammunition. Leading goal scorer Rondee Smith, Roshane Sharpe, and Venton Evans have enough quality to keep the home team on their backfoot.
Dunbeholden’s lowly place does not speak to the quality of the football that they have played and the fight that they have shown. DeanAndre Thomas has looked good for them and has netted three goals, but he will need more support from Nickoy Christian, Graeme Green, and Kemo Gayle.
At Wespow Park, the struggling Montego Bay United will be hoping to bounce back to winning ways when they host Waterhouse. With their injury-riddled squad, a victory for the home team will be a tall order, especially with Waterhouse’s confidence high following their midweek win over UWI FC.
The rebounding Humble Lion will be seeking to keep climbing up the table as they entertain Reno in a match that will be like a reunion for Craig Foster, who served Reno very well for a number of years.
In one of two late games UWI FC will visit Drax Hall to face Mount
POINTS STANDING
Portmore UWIFC Arnett Tivoli
Cavalier H. Lion Reno MoBay U H.View
Pleasant in what should be a keenlycontested game. Mount Pleasant, for their part, will not want to lose their third game at home and a second in a row following an away loss to Arnett Gardens. UWI will also want to put the loss to Waterhouse behind them and keep pace with leaders Portmore United. Additionally, being one of four teams on 17 points, a loss could be detrimental.
TODAY’S GAMES
3 p.m.: Dunbeholden vs Portmore United – Royal Lakes Complex
I 3 p.m.: Humble Lion vs Reno – Effortvile Community Centre
I 3 p.m.: Montego Bay United vs Waterhouse – Wespow Park
I 7 p.m.: Mount Pleasant vs UWI FC – Drax Hall Sports Complex
I 7 p.m.: Tivoli Gardens vs Cavalier – Edward Seaga Complex
ITOMORROW’S GAME
8:35 p.m.: Harbour View vs Arnett Gardens – Harbour View Stadium
I10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 5 5 5 5 5 3 3 3 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2 5 4 4 2 4 3 1 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 5 4 5 7 14 12 13 10 9 13 13 12 5 7 7 8 8 7 11 8 7 9 10 10 10 14 15 14 6 5 2 2 2 3 3 2 -5 -7 -8 -6 18 17 17 17 17 14 13 13 11 10 9 7 JAMAICA RUGBY League Association (JRLA) Director of Rugby Romeo Monteith said it is a great feeling seeing years of hard work pay off with the senior men’s national team after it qualified for the Rugby League World Cup in 2021.
The JRLA had assembled a national team for its third successive World Cup qualifying campaign. After failed attempts in 2011 and 2015, it decided to focus on getting the English-based contingent more playing time together in Europe to build team chemistry.
“We’ve done it, man! I mean, this is just incredible!” Monteith said jubilantly. “To think that Jamaica is going to be out there in front of millions of people in 2021, that’s incredible! All of this has been done in the last 16 years. It’s incredible to see what we have achieved.”
FIRST IN THE CARIBBEAN
The Reggae Warriors achieved the feat, becoming the first Caribbean nation to do so, when they defeated the USA Hawks 16-10 in the Americas Championship in Florida last night. It was also their first-ever win over the Americans.
Led by tries from Joel Farrell and Jacob Ogden, and a penalty and conversion from Jymel Coleman, the Romeo Monteith-coached Reggae Warriors led the Hawks 16-10 at the half.
The second half saw them hold their shape and nerve to produce a fine defensive display against the hosts to see the result out and make history.
Monteith said that he was very pleased with the team’s defending.
“The game was really tough,” he said. “We’ve played the USA six times before. We have never beaten them. They have knocked us out of two World Cup qualifiers before.”