MoBay, Racing go in search of breathing room

RACING UNITED and Montego Bay United will, today, look to separate themselves at the top of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL), when they play Tivoli Gardens and Spanish Town Police, respectively.

In one of only three matches on today, Racing take on Tivoli at Dunbeholden field at 3 p.m.

While, in a double-header at the Montego Bay Sports Complex, joint leaders, MoBay play lowly Spanish Town Police in the feature game at 7 p.m., while Treasure Beach take on Harbour View in the opening game at 4:30 p.m.

Other games between Mount Pleasant and Arnett Gardens and Cavalier and Dunbeholden have been postponed because of the Concacaf Caribbean Cup this week.

Mount Pleasant play against O&M FC at the National Stadium, while Cavalier play against Weymouth Wales FC at Wildey Turf in Barbados on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Racing, Portmore, MoBay and Chapelton all sit on 10 points at the top of the JPL standings, and are only separated by goal difference, respectively.

However, of the four, only Racing and MoBay play today, giving both the opportunity to put a gap between them and the rest of the pack.

MoBay lost their unbeaten record last week after five matches, losing to Portmore in a tough encounter.

The Montego Bay team created numerous opportunities over the course of the game but ended up on the losing end, and coach Xavier Gilbert said he expects an immediate response.

“When you lose. It is always tough. It’s early days and we just have to bounce back as quickly as possible.

“We have another game on Sunday and we just have to put this behind us and move forward as quickly as we can.”

He noted that they cannot afford to take the newcomers lightly.

“The next game is at home against Police and that can be tricky. We cannot let complacency set in. We have to come and put our foot on the gas and go again,” he said.

Their opponents, Spanish Town Police, got a major boost last week after they held Chapelton to a 0-0 draw, for their first point of the campaign.

The league rookies have been competitive and have created chances in all their games, but have been left down by some poor finishing. But assistant coach, William Spencer said they will continue to work to get it right in front of goal and that they will continue to make it difficult for others to get points off them.

TRYING TO SOLVE PROBLEM

“We want to capitalise and build on that point [in] the next game. We have told the players that if we keep clean sheets, we will either draw or win the games.

“We are trying to solve our goalscoring issue. We are doing some work in training, where finishing in concerned and we are trying to get some people to come in and help us.

“But it’s a work in progress and we are going to fight every game. So you can expect a good fight from the Police team every time they play,” he stated.

The opening game between Treasure Beach and Harbour View, should also provide some excitement, with both teams holding similar records.

Treasure Beach have shown real competitiveness this season and have already scored eight times, although they have conceded 11 goals.

They will fancy their chances against a Harbour View team that is still finding its feet.

However, Harbour View are still on a high after their win away at Waterhouse. But they too need to tighten up at the back, having let in eight goals in four games already.

“It (win over Waterhouse) gave belief to the players, beating an in-form Waterhouse. Right now, we are hoping to get some points on the board. We won our first three points and we have to stay focused because we have many to play for,” Harbour View coach Bjorn Thomas said.

Meanwhile, Racing who lost their perfect win record last weekend, after they were held to a goalless draw by Portmore rivals, Dunbeholden. They will be aiming to returning to winning ways and to stay atop the league.

They will be favoured to get the points against Tivoli, who are winless in their last two and have won only once in their five matches this term.

TODAY’S GAMES

Racing vs Tivoli at Dunbeholden field (3 p.m.)

Treasure Beach vs Harbour View at Catherine Hall (4:30 p.m.)

MoBay vs Spanish Town Police (7 p.m.)