Battle for top six far from over

SEVENTH-PLACE RACING United and ninth-place Dunbeholden will look to continue their good form and close in on the top-six when they take on fourth-place Portmore and sixth-place Waterhouse respectively in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) today.

Racing play Portmore at the Ferdi Neita Park and Dunbeholden face Waterhouse at the Dunbeholden Sports Complex, both starting at 3 p.m.

In other games, Molynes go up against Cavalier (venue to be announced) at 3 p.m., Chapelton meet Vere in the Clarendon derby at Anthony Spaulding Complex at 3 p.m. before Harbour View take on Arnett in the feature game of the double-header 5:30 p.m. at the same venue.

In their last game, Racing United dropped points for the first time in five games, but assistant coach Paul Walker believes teams are taking them more seriously and that they must continue to up their game if they want to continue reaping good results.

“Each team is seeing the results now. So teams will come at us hard because they have seen the results in the last six games.

“They know what they are coming up against. We just have to fight harder and we are working for the top six,” he commented.

He said they are expecting another good performance on Sunday and that it’s for them to make use of their chances and see out the game.

“Expect us to score some goals, which we have been doing from the other day, and expect more brilliant football from us, which the boys are always doing but we weren’t getting the wins and goals in the first part of the season.

“Now we are getting goals, we just have to know how to control games and deal with games and we are working on that. So let’s see how it goes,” he added.

Portmore coach Rodolph Austin once again lamented his team dropping two points because of poor finishing, after they got numerous chances against Dunbeholden in their last match, but failed to score in a 0-0 draw.

Racing sit just outside the top six on 29 points, five behind Waterhouse in sixth and 10 adrift of Portmore.

TOP-SIX STATUS

Meanwhile, Waterhouse could see their top-six status come under serious threat, if they fail to pick up points away to Dunbeholden.

With just one point from their last four, Waterhouse cannot afford many more mishaps with Racing and Tivoli (28), breathing down their neck.

Dunbeholden (23) have picked up seven points from their last three matches and have found renewed vigour under coach Harold Thomas. They should give Marcel Gayle’s Waterhouse much to think about.

Since their victory in the Caribbean Cup in December, Cavalier have failed to hit spark on a consistent basis.

In the last nine matches, Rudolph Speid’s team have won just twice. They will want to overcome this run with the third round fast approaching.

Cavalier are fifth in the table on 38 points, and they face a Molynes team, in 10th with 23 points. Molynes have not been at their best either, with just one win in their last seven.

The Clarendon derby between Chapelton and Vere should be worth the watch with both teams trying hard to escape relegation.

Chapelton are 11th on 21 points, while Vere are second-from-bottom on 18.

After another dramatic come-from-behind win over another archrival in Waterhouse on Thursday, Arnett will start favourites against Harbour View in that matchup.

Arnett have been playing some of their best football over the last two matches, with the league’s leading striker, Warner Brown (14 goals), in red-hot form.

However, Harbour View have shown marked improvement since the turn of the year, with two of their five wins this season coming in their last four matches, and should give the home team a contest.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

TODAY’S GAMES

Racing vs Portmore at Ferdi Neita Park (3 p.m.)

Molynes vs Cavalier (T.B.A.) (3 p.m.)

Dunbeholden vs Waterhouse at Dunbeholden Sports Complex (3 p.m.)

Chapelton vs Vere at Anthony Spaulding (3 p.m.)

Harbour View vs Arnett at Anthony Spaulding (5:30 p.m.)