By Nodley Wright,
Staff Reporter
THE quarter-final round of the Red Label Wine Jackie Bell Knockout football competition gets going this afternoon with what could turn out to be two classic David against Goliath matches as National Premier League teams host Major League opposition. Both matches begin at 3:00pm.
Tivoli Gardens host Real Mona at Railway Oval while Olympic Gardens tackle Bull Bay at Cling Cling Oval.
In both encounters, the NPL teams should be given the edge against their supposedly lesser opposition, though they should take nothing for granted. In the case of Real Mona, they fought off more fancied teams to get to this stage.
Among their victims are Shortwood who top Zone 1 of the Major League, the same zone in which Mona are just one place above the bottom. They also knocked off Boys' Town who are sitting atop the point standings of Zone 2.
It is this kind of record that coach Michael Walker hopes will continue against Tivoli Gardens one of the most talented in the National Premier League.
"We are not going to lay down as we have been doing very well in the knockout," Walker said.
"During the pre-season we did well against Premier League teams and as a result we should do well against Tivoli.
"Our chance is good as any. It depends on how well or how badly we play on the day," he continued, hoping for a giant-killing performance.
Tivoli's coach Ali McNab said his team would not take their opponents lightly. "Real Mona have nothing to lose so they will come very hard at us," McNab said. "While we will be trying to maintain our dominance, we will not underestimate them," he said.
Tivoli, who have been without a number of injured players for a siginificant part of their season, will be further depleted by the absence of the spark plug Jermaine Johnson who is in England on a two-week trial with Premiership League team Ipswich. In addition to Johnson, the team will also be missing defender Marco McDonald and Christopher Nicholas who will be with the national team and will not be released to play.
Despite the absences, McNab is backing his team to win. "It's quite unlikely that we should lose against Real Mona.
"We have been doing quite well without the injured players. But it doesn't matter who we put on the field we expect them to perform."
At Cling Cling Oval, the game is a bit more balanced. Though there are two leagues between them, Olympic Gardens are close to the bottom of the NPL while Bull Bay are in second place in Zone 1.
Like their Major League counterparts Real Mona, Bull Bay have knocked off more fancied opponents to advance to this stage. Among the teams they have defeated are the National A League duo of Maverley/Hughenden and Duhaney Park.
"We will do our best to keep our playing standard up," said Harbour View defender Barrington Gaynor who serves as Bull Bay coach. "We were able to reach this far because the chemistry in the team is right," he said.
Brian Rose, who manages Olympic Gardens, said his team would not be looking at Bull Bay as a walkover as "some teams usually rise to the occasion" and Bull Bay could rise to the occasion and "sneak in one goal and hold on".
TODAY'S GAMES
Tivoli Gardens vs Real Mona at Railway Oval
Olympic Gardens vs Bull Bay at Cling Cling Oval
