Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau: Reno installed themselves as firm favourites to win The Captain's Bakery & Grill Western Super League football title, when a Davion Thorpe strike gave them a 1-0 win over mid-season champions Seba United in their top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday afternoon at Frome in Westmoreland.

Entering the game against Seba United with both having the identical record of 35 points from 13 games, Reno got sweet revenge for the 2-1 loss they suffered against the Montego Bay team in the mid-season finals - for which no points were awarded.

Seba and Reno, who battled to a 1-1 draw in the competition's first round, are seen as the only real threat to each other in the quest to win The Captain's Bakery title and earn qualification for the 2010-11 all-island play-off, which will yield two qualifiers for the Digicel Premier League.

important loss

"The mid-season loss was quite important to us because it gave us a chance to see and analyse the Seba team," Reno's technical director, Wendell Downswell, told
The Gleaner
in an interview. "Our plan is not to give up any points in the games that carry points."

In other games, Granville, who have had an uncharacteristically poor season, registered their best form when they clobbered former national champions Violet Kickers 7-1 at the UDC playing field in Montego Bay. Rodney Hinds (three goals), skipper Garth Johnson (two), and Michael Thompson and Oniel Pringle netted the goals.

The win, which lifts Granville to 22 points, has renewed some amount of optimism in their camp. According to club administrator Tracey Reid, although they are way off the pace in the battle for the championship, they will continue to throw their full effort into every game.

"It is way too early to give up on winning the title so we will be throwing everything we have into every game," said Reid. "You can never tell what can happen ... this football."

In other games on Wednesday, struggling Wadadah surprised Exidus 3-1, while the games featuring Frome against Petersfield and Bamboo against Prosper ended 0-0. The games slated for this Sunday have been brought forward to today.