UWI, Cavalier hunt turnaround in Mona

Things change rapidly in the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL), as at one moment you could be standing securely on your feet and another moment you could find yourself on the seat of your pants. UWI FC best exemplifies this, as just over two weeks ago, they were vying for the top spot in the table, but today find themselves in eighth position in the 12-team league.

The position that UWI FC have found themselves in is due largely to them slipping to four successive losses in their last five games. Over that time, they have lost twice to Waterhouse, once to Mount Pleasant Academy, and once to Montego Bay United. Today, they go up against fifth-place Cavalier FC, and coach Andrew Peart knows there has to be a turnaround.

"This game is important for us, as we have not won in our last four games, and we know that we are, and have performed, better than the results have shown, but it is now a question of us now having the right mentality to play through what we are experiencing," said Peart, who got his charges off to a bright start when the season kicked off.

In looking at his team's performance, Peart explained that not only are they not scoring enough, having found the back of the net just 12 times, but they are conceding goals at the wrong time, which speaks to faulty concentration.

"We are not scoring (enough) and I think we are conceding goals at the wrong time. Against Mount Pleasant, it was in stoppage time. Against Montego Bay United, it was in first-half stoppage time, and again in stoppage time, so concentration is an issue," outlined Peart, whose team has only outscored Harbour View, Reno, Montego Bay United and fourth-placed Mount Pleasant Academy.

This game means just as much to Cavalier as it does to UWI FC.

"This game is very important to us, as any bad result could see us slipping out of the top half of the table, which is something that we cannot afford at this time," Rudolph Speid, Cavalier's technical director, said.

While UWI FC were going through their tough patch, things were looking up for Cavalier FC, as they had wins over Tivoli Gardens and Mount Pleasant away from home, as well as a 0-0 draw with second-place Arnett Gardens. A positive result today would be an extension of that.

FAVOURABLE RESULTS

"We were aware that we had four very hard games to play in Tivoli, Mount Pleasant, Arnett and now UWI FC. We prepared ourselves for them and got some favourable results," said Speid, whose team has never defeated UWI FC at the UWI Bowl.

Based on the attitude of his players, led by captain Chevone Marsh, and including Alex Marshall, Nicholas Hamilton, Nicholas Nelson and Jamoi Topey, Speid is confident that they will have a change of fortunes against UWI FC today.

At Royal Lakes, leaders Portmore United will square off with Dunbeholden FC in a St Catherine derby, while Harbour View will do their chances of revival a world of good with a positive result at Effortville, where they travel to meet Humble Lion FC.

Montego Bay United will go into the western Jamaica derby against Reno with a lot of confidence, following their win over UWI FC, while if Reno can replicate their first-half performance against Portmore United, they should be in good stead.

The Tivoli Gardens-Waterhouse game should also be a cracker.

Today's RSPL Games

- FC Reno vs Montego Bay United FC @ Frome Sports Complex - 3 p.m.

- UWI FC vs Cavalier FC @ UWI Mona Bowl - 3 p.m.

- Dunbeholden FC vs Portmore United FC @ Royal Lakes - 3 p.m.

- Humble Lion FC vs Harbour View FC @ Effortville Community Centre - 3 p.m.

- Tivoli Gardens FC vs Waterhouse FC @ Edward Seaga Complex - 7 p.m.

Tomorrow's game

- Arnett Gardens FC vs Mount Pleasant FC @ Anthony Spaulding Complex - 8:35 p.m.