Reno seek maximum points against tough Boys’ Town

After getting off to a fast pace at the beginning of the season and even topping the table for a while, former champions Reno spent a good part of the first round looking up at teams such as leaders Montego Bay United and Portmore United, a thing they will have to address in the second round.

That is the view expressed by the Westmoreland team's technical director, Wendell Downswell, who will lead his six-placed team into battle against eighth-placed Boys' Town and Barbican today.

"Traditionally, Boys' Town are a tough team and very difficult to beat, and I don't suppose their approach will be any different," said Downswell, who starred for the club as a player.

But even while he expects Boys' Town to be at their best, the successful national youth coach is of the view that playing at Barbican could be beneficial to his team.

"The fact that we are playing at Barbican may neutralise things a little bit, but we are hell bent on getting the three points when we meet them," Downswell declared.

While their recent results do not translate to dominance, Downswell said that will change soon.

"We had some injuries, causing some of our key players to be out. We are getting them back now, so you will see the result of that.

"Our issue now is the goalscoring. That is one of the things we are placing emphasis on. We have been spending quite a lot of time on that on the training ground. We have to fix that going into the next round," Downswell explained.

Boys' Town also intend to make a statement of their own after steadily inching their way out of the relegation zone.

"It is an important game. At the midpoint of the first round, we said that our objective was to get 15 points, so it is important that we win this game to achieve that," said Andrew Price, Boys' Town head coach.

Rafeik Thomas has been one of their best players so far, and Price believes that other players are getting fit and contributing more to the team.

 

SLOW START

 

"I believe that we are slowly coming into our own after a slow start, mainly because of players being overseas and playing in the Business House competition. We have had the entire group together, now for about a month, so we are gelling now. Once we stay together, we can put ourselves in the top half of the league and stay there. It is about consistency now," he said.

Boys' Town's chances will not be helped by the fact that Xavian Virgo will again be missing because of an ankle injury, but the improved play of Shamar Nicholson should be a plus.

Reno, meanwhile, will be boosted by the return of attacker Renorio Downswell.

 

Today's Games

 

- 3:00 p.m. Boys' Town vs Reno at Barbican Stadium

- 3:00 p.m. Portmore United vs Arnett Gardens at Juici Park Clarendon

- 4:00 p.m. Rivoli United vs Montego Bay United at Drax Hall, St Ann

- 3:00 p.m. UWI FC vs Tivoli Gardens at UWI Bowl, Mona

- 3:00 p.m. Waterhouse vs Humble Lion at Drewsland Stadium

 

Tomorrow's game

 

- 8:40 p.m. Cavalier SC vs Harbour View FC at Stadium East

 

Standings

 

Teams P W D L GF GA GD Pts

MoBay Utd 10 6 3 1 22 9 13 21

Portmore 10 5 3 2 9 7 2 18

Humble Lion 10 5 3 2 8 6 2 18

Arnett 10 5 2 3 16 8 8 17

Tivoli 10 4 2 4 14 11 3 14

Reno 10 3 5 2 12 11 1 14

H.View 10 3 5 2 11 10 1 14

Boys' Town 10 3 3 4 10 16 -6 12

Rivoli 10 3 1 6 8 12 -4 10

Cavalier 10 2 3 5 3 8 -5 9

UWI FC 10 2 3 5 6 15 -9 9

Waterhouse 10 2 1 7 6 14 -8 7