Best and Worst Week 4 JPL

BEST

Vere United

Head coach Donovan Duckie may be tempering expectations of his team but after four games, Vere United are tied for second place with eight points and are one of the two undefeated teams left in the league. Sunday's 3-1 win over Clarendon rivals Humble Lion was fuelled by a double from Ricardo Messam. It is Vere United that are now bringing pride to the parish with their current run of form.

Harbour View

Despite being a young team, Harbour View head coach Ludlow Bernard still wants his players to develop that winning mentality in how they pursue their goals this season. Week-by-Week the signs are showing that they could mount a title challenge. Oquassa Chong continued his hot form with a goal and Tevin Scott added another as they dispatched Dunbeholden 2-0 on Saturday. A big test awaits them tomorrow as they face Vere United, with both teams having an opportunity to vault themselves into first place with a win.

Portmore United

The reigning champions maintained top spot in the league with nine points as they dispatched Tivoli Gardens 3-1, thanks to a two-minute span where they capitalised on Tivoli's defensive errors. With an excellent goal direct from the corner kick from Ricardo Morris, Portmore are proving to be worthy title contenders in the shortened season. They will hope to continue their run against a struggling Humble Lion team on Sunday.

Cavalier

Technical director Rudolph Speid said that they missed the presence of striker Shaneil Thomas in their loss to Dunbeholden last week. Thomas showed how influential he is to the team after scoring a brace in their 3-0 win over Arnett Gardens. Cavalier are now on seven points, two away from leaders Portmore and while the gap may potentially be a bit larger during their bye week, they will have the confidence from that performance to motivate them to continue winning on their return.

WORST

Humble Lion

It is time to panic for Humble Lion. Three clubs have already made coaching changes despite the short season. And if results do not improve quickly, Andrew Price could be the next causality. They were a goal down against their Clarendon rivals Vere United after 27 minutes and four minutes later, things got worse when Linval Lewis was sent off after picking up a second yellow. A 3-1 loss sees them rooted to the bottom of the table and they face leaders Portmore United on Sunday where every game from now on is a must-win.

Arnett Gardens

While they managed to keep Cavalier at bay in the first half, Arnett could not live with Cavalier striker Shaniel Thomas in the second half. His two-goal performance helped to overpower Arnett 3-0 and sees the "Junglists" in eighth place with three points. Having started their season late, it is a setback that can be corrected and will need to elevate their game against their next opponents Mount Pleasant.

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli's defence did not perform up to their standards, conceding two goals in the space of two minutes in the first half and goalkeeper Dwayne Watkins's second-half ejection made the situation unsalvageable. Despite a well-taken free-kick from Rodico Wellington, the defensive lapses doomed Tivoli to their first loss of the season. They will have to address that and give a much better showing against Waterhouse on Monday.

Dunbeholden

While Dunbeholden managed to get their first win with their new head coach Harold Thomas, they could not handle surging Harbour View, who they lost to 2-0, for their fourth defeat of the season and now leaves them in ninth place with three points. However, it only takes a consistent run to improve their fortunes and a win against 10th place Molynes United on Saturday could still put them in the thick of the playoff race.