From left to right, Village's Dawes, Tivoli's Goodison, and Reno's new coach Maxwell
Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
THREE OF the four western-based Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL) teams will be on show in the region today and are in great spirits as the new season opens.
Whether the three veterans will make their marks or be roadkill will not be known for some time but, for now, the sky is the limit.
Village, third last season, will face Tivoli Gardens at the Elleston-Wakeland Community Centre while former champions Seba United and Reno will meet at Jarrett Park.
In years gone by, the Jarrett Park game would attract upwards of 5,000 spectators to watch two of the most storied clubs in the island go head-to-head. In reality however, they will be happy to attract a fifth of that total today as the game in Trelawny promises to be the better of the two.
STOCKS FALLEN
So far have the stocks fallen for the teams that have combined for five titles and nine finals appearances in the decade between 1986-87 and 1996-97, that they have not been able to attract many top players in the off season.
The biggest acquisition for Reno could be well-travelled coach Geoffrey Maxwell while Seba are re-stocking with a combination of young and not-so-young players from other teams.
The only newcomer to the Reno squad is the former Frome Technical and Westland striker Kendrie Quarrie who represented Hazard (now Portmore United) over the past few seasons.
NEW-LOOK RENO
Maxwell said on Friday that while his "new-look Reno" team was "a month behind in their preparations, they have shown lots of commitment and discipline" and they will be taking the season one step at a time.
While he said he does not know much about Seba, he was wary of their "rich history" and said his side would be taking a cautious approach to the game and a point would be acceptable.
Maxwell might not be the only person who does not know the Seba team as the Seba fans might also have a hard time identifying the players in the red and green today.
With the return to professional football in Britain by national captain Theodore Whitmore and the loss of Howard Reid, Wilfred Smith and Markino Gillings, Seba have lost most of their talent and will be forced to build through the youth system.
Club chairman Bruce Gaynor was upbeat about their chances however, saying that they will take a lot of teams by surprise this season.
YOUNG PLAYERS
They have signed a bunch of young players including Denzil Watson of Portmore United and national Under-20 wingback Keniel Moodie, who represented Rusea's in the schoolboy competition last year.
Also in the Seba team today will be Floyd Scott, formerly of Wadadah, Jermaine Anderson, who represented Village last season, Kevin Reid, who played for Wadadah and Hazard in the past two seasons, along with Emile Thomas and Glenworth Benjamin of Village.
Their best bet today could be coach Everton Tomlinson who up to last season was a member of the Reno coaching staff and a vice-president of the club.
A retooled Village United will be seeking to get off to a good start at the expense of the Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey coached Tivoli Gardens.
Village, in their third year in the island's top club football competition, finished third last year but are looking forward to making it to at least the final this year.
Marvin Tate, the man who will guide the team in the early going, was in a confident mood when he spoke to The Gleaner on Friday and while he would not predict they would go all the way, he said he was confident they would make a good impression this season.
Tate was confident Village had enough to start the season with a win as he said they had a good preseason and the team was in "very good condition".
The addition of the experienced Christopher Dawes and Kevin Williams along with the exciting 17-year-old centre forward Warren Ukah will strengthen the Trelawny team.
If he can break into the rotation, Ukah should complement the prolific tandem of Fabian Dawkins and Teofore Bennett with midfielders Daniel Ricketts and Shane Crawford providing back up.
SHORT PASSING GAME
Tate said he expects the Tivoli team to play a short passing game and they will be ready.
The signing of former national central defender Ian 'Pepe' Goodison will strengthen the Tivoli defence and will create one of the best central defences as he will pair with the ever-improving Marco McDonald.
With the exception of Goodison, who played sparingly for Seba last season, the Tivoli team should look the same as it has been for the past few seasons with Christopher Nicholas, Roland Deans, Steve Green and Kasai Hinds.
2002-2003 PREMIER LEAGUE SEASON
Winner: Hazard United
Second: Arnett Gardens
Third: Harbour View
Fourth: Village United
Registered players: 600 - 14 overseas, 586 local.
Games played: 200
Goals scored: 500
Leading scorer: Roen Nelson - 30 goals
Average goal scored per game: 2.5
Penalties scored: 24
Free kicks scored: 36
Corner kicks scored: 2
Most goals (team): Harbour View - 69
Least goals (team): Bull Bay - 21
Most matches won: Hazard United - 22
Least matches won: Bull Bay and Wadadah - 3
Fastest goal: 1st minute - Fabian Davis for Arnett Garden during the match against Constant Spring on October 10, 2002.
Hat-tricks: 9 - Johnathan Williams (Arnett), Christopher Nicholas (Tivoli), Jomo Gordon (Harbour View), Nicholas McCreath, Fabian Taylor, Teofore Bennett (Village United), Fabian Dawkins, Shane Crawford, Conroy Sinclair (Wadadah).
First End of Round winner: Arnett Gardens
Second End of Round winner: Hazard United
Final End of Round Winner: Hazard United
Team of the Year: Hazard United
Coach of the Year: Lenworth Hyde - Hazard United
Most Valuable Player: Roen Nelson - Hazard United
Junior Player of the Year: Tyrone Sawyers - Hazard United
Best Defensive team: Hazard United
Personality of the Year: Julian McLeish - Arnett Gardens
Fair Play Award: Tivoli Football Club
Top Referee: Peter Prendergast
