CLASH OF THE TITANS

Montego Bay United will attempt to halt their deteriorating form in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) when they face Caribbean champions, Mount Pleasant, in the feature game at Jarrett Park, starting at 3 p.m.

In a double-header at the Waterhouse Stadium, Spanish Town Police play Treasure Beach in the first game at 4 p.m., while Waterhouse entertain Molynes at 6:30 p.m., Harbour View take on Cavalier at Harbour View Mini-Stadium at 3 p.m. and Portmore meet Dunbeholden in a Portmore derby at Ferdi Neita Park at 3 p.m.

Since the return of the league, post-Hurricane Melissa, MoBay, one of the clubs worst affected by the category five storm, have struggled to regain their early-season form.

Prior to the hurricane, MoBay won seven of their nine matches, with just one defeat to the then in-form Portmore United.

However, since the passage of the catastrophic storm, MoBay have failed to return to their level, registering just one win in four attempts, inclusive of two defeats.

MoBay (26 points) are still well positioned on the table, trailing league leaders Racing, only on goal difference.

However, should they continue to drop points at this rate, they could sink further with Portmore two behind and Mount Pleasant and Cavalier, five adrift.

“Things have been tough. We said it would have taken about four games to find our footing. I hoped it would not have hurt us as it did,” said MoBay coach Xavier Gilbert.

“We are still having some issues. But we are going to give it our best shot. And now that we are settled back in, hopefully things will improve.

“We are good enough to get something out of the game. We are playing the Caribbean champions. It is not going to be easy. They have threats in all areas. We will have to nullify those and exploit any area we can exploit,” Gilbert stated.

Mount Pleasant go into the game on the back of a 5-0 drubbing of Spanish Town Police.

Mount Pleasant coach, Theodore Whitmore, went into the Spanish Town Police game with one eye on this fixture, leaving out regulars such as Jashaun Anglin, Warner Brown, Tyreek Magee and Lamar Walker for that match, with the intention that they will all be fit for this massive encounter.

PREPARING FOR UPCOMING GAME

“As a coaching staff we saw it fit to rest some players, hence we would have made some changes going into the (Spanish Town) game. “We have a tough game coming up. One where we have to be prepared and make sure our players are in the best condition to play that game come this Sunday,” he said.

At Drewsland, Waterhouse will go into their first game in eight years without Marcel Gayle at the helm. Gayle resigned after a poor string of results and has been replaced by his assistant Jermaine Miller, who will work under Argentine technical advisor, Javier Ainstein.

“Ainstein had his first session on Monday and we are looking forward positively to continuing our journey in the Premier League,” Waterhouse president Donovan White stated.

Waterhouse are sixth on the table on 15 points, 11 off the league leaders. And an air of expectancy is anticipated for their first home match under the new technical team.

However, Molynes, 12th on the table on 12 points, have distinguished themselves in the last three matches, taking seven of nine points, with two wins and a draw. And coach Jermaine Thomas said things are starting to come together for Molynes.

“We did a lot of work in the break. The team is more together. They are playing together and it has been working really well for us,” he remarked.

In the opening game of the double-header, bottom-of-the-table Spanish Town Police will continue their battle against relegation, facing off against fellow promoted team Treasure Beach.

However, unlike Spanish Town Police, Treasure Beach have been very competitive. They are 11th in the league, with 12 points from nine matches, and after their win over Portmore, following their delayed return to the league last weekend, they will be high on confidence.

At Ferdi Neita Park, hosts Portmore will look to avoid a third straight defeat against an improving Dunbeholden, who are unbeaten in four matches.

While, Harbour View, who have also improved under coach Vassell Reynolds will try to stretch their unbeaten run to five matches against defending champions Cavalier, who are hunting a second straight win after back-to-back losses.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

Today’s Games

Harbour View vs Cavalier at Compund - 3 p.m.

MoBay vs Mt Pleasant at Jarrett Park - 3 p.m.

Portmore vs Dunbeholden at Ferdi Neita Park - 3 p.m.

Spanish Town Police vs Treasure Beach at Drewsland - 4 p.m.

Waterhouse vs Molynes at Drewsland - 6:30 p.m.