Humble Lion, Vere desperate for victory

Vere Phoenix and Humble Lion face a desperate struggle for points to shrug off their relegation woes when they clash in a Jamaica Premier League Clarendon derby at Effortville Community Centre this afternoon at 3.

Molynes United FC and Harbour View FC are also battling to keep their place in the league, even at this early stage of the competition with this the third set of matches in the second round of the three-round preliminaries. They will play the first match of a doubleheader at Drax Hall at 1 p.m., while Dunbeholden FC take on home club and leaders Mount Pleasant Football Academy at 3:15 p.m.

After 15 matches Humble Lion, with just one win this season, sit at the bottom of the 14-team standings with just 10 points, while Vere, who have won three matches thus far, are just one place outside the relegation zone on 13 points.

Both coaches are fully aware of how dire their situations are and are focused on nothing but three points.

However, while Vere have brought in reinforcements to bolster the quality of their squad, Humble Lion coach Donovan Duckie said they are hoping to tie up a few deals in the transfer market themselves.

SOLID TEAM GAME

And after conceding 12 goals in their last three matches, he says they must improve how they defend.

“Nothing less than three points is what we are looking for. We have to play a solid team game and we must improve on our defending. Our defending has been atrocious,” Duckie said.

“It has to do with personnel. But how we are trying to improve that is how we defend on a group level, at a phase level and on a team level. But we must improve on that in order to get a result from the game.”

Duckie noted that all Vere’s points have come against teams in the lower half of the table, and that their opponents will be confident.

“We are playing at home. We know the situation that we are in. We cannot go down any further. It is just one way to go and we are using that as motivation,” Duckie said.

“We cannot take anything for granted. They have won more games than us, which also gives them the confidence of winning, and they are a dangerous side, especially when playing against the lower ranked teams below the top six.

“But it’s a derby game, especially at home, so we need no motivation for the team to perform, and performance has to do with the effort levels. So I am looking forward to a competitive game,” he said.

PLAYER BOOST

His opposite number, Lenworth Hyde, said despite the disappointing showing in their last game where they lost 5-0 to Molynes United FC, Vere Phoenix have been boosted by the addition of a centre half, a midfielder and two forwards, with a Brazilian and Englishman to be added next week.

Nevertheless, he pointed out that Humble Lion, like them, are just as desperate for points and will not go down lightly.

“Both teams are in the same boat. We are not playing well, we are not defending well. But with the additional players that we have we will be more confident, we will be more competent all over the pitch,” Hyde reasoned.

“We want to win the game but it will be a tough one,” he analysed. “Duckie is shrewd, he is a good defensive coach so it sets (up) for a good game because we will be going on the attack. We will be high pressing them and at the end of the day see how the result goes,” he commented.

Hyde said his team must also improve defensively if they are to do well.

“The transition from offence to defence, I think that is where we are lacking. Because we have mostly attacking players the mindset is not really to defend for those players. But we stressed that this week,” he shared.

“We have to get back behind the ball as quickly as possible. We are supposed to be sprinting back and we are jogging and walking and it is costing us goals. So we have to be more disciplined when we are defending,” he said.

“We have to lift our game but they have been in that slump for so long that they will definitely try and lift themselves out and try to get the three points from us.”

Meanwhile, the top three teams, Mount Pleasant (34), Montego Bay FC (31) and Arnett Gardens FC (31), are favoured to get three points against Dunbeholden FC (15), Chapelton Maroons FC (16) and Racing United FC (15), respectively.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

TODAY’S MATCHES

1 p.m. Molynes United FC vs Harbour View FC at Drax Hall

3:15 p.m. Dunbeholden FC vs Mount Pleasant FC at Drax Hall

3 p.m. Racing FC vs Arnett Gardens FC at Ferdi Neita Park

3 p.m. Humble Lion vs Vere Phoenix FC at Effortville Community Centre

5:30 p.m. MoBay United FC vs Chapelton Maroons at Montego Bay Sports Complex

MONDAY’S MATCHES

5 p.m. Tivoli Gardens FC vs Portmore United FC

7:45 p.m. Cavalier SC vs Waterhouse FC

Both matches will be played at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.