TRAUMATISED by the violent manner in which their teammate and national player Oraine Simpson was killed recently, defending champions Tivoli Gardens must now lift themselves for a top-two showdown against leaders St Georges Sports Club, in the Digicel Premier League this afternoon.

For the contest on their home turf, Edward Seaga Sports Complex, Tivoli have two main goals, both of which depend on a victory.

"First and foremost it's to regain the lead in the competition," noted Brian Rose, long-time manager of the team that trails St Georges, on 18, by two points.

"Secondly," Rose adds, "the team has dedicated Sunday's match to Orane Simpson and the aim is to win that and the championship."

Simpson succumbed to stab wounds in a dispute almost a week and a half ago.

Commenting on St. Georges, he said: "I think they're a refocused team. It seems as if they did some homework pre-season and it has shown in their results and the fact that they're now leading the league. We've to take this game and this team very serious."

St Georges are aware of the additional motivation Tivoli will be looking to pull from their loss.

"It's not an easy game," remarked Braxton Hyre, St Georges' coach. "For one they're trying to reach the mid-season final and they have something to play for - to play for Oraine. I don't think they will fold up. They're mentally strong, that's why they're the defending champions."

Hyre says they are looking to employ the discipline and strategies that have made them unbeaten, as they have maintained a very decent balance while scoring 10 goals and conceding only two.

"We assess each team ... we understand their strength and weakness and we try to counter them," said coach of the Portland team, Braxton Hyre.

"The teamwork and everybody understanding their role, with the hard work that we put in, it's the key to what we're doing."

Continuing Hyre, who once marshalled the midfield in the Premier League while repre-senting Constant Spring, said his Georges team will need to employ their 'key' elements if they are to top the fixture.

"First and foremost, we're playing away from home and we're playing against Tivoli Gardens, which have a very strong attacking force with (Roland) Dean, (Navion) Boyd and (Keammar) Daley getting a lot of their goals. So we'll try to nullify their strength, which is their attacking and take our chances when we get them."

hunt for goals

Tivoli, which have lost once, are averaging more than two goals per game, rattling in 15 in seven outings.

In the hunt for goals, Hyre will look to his main attackers Damion 'Boy Boy' Harwood, Dwayne Holmes, Richardo Watson and Ricardo Scott who netted the winner in last week Sunday's 1-0 victory over Rivoli.

Since then, St Georges ventured to the Corporate Area for a rescheduled match and drew 1-1 with Boys' Town Wednesday, and Hyre hopes his team won't find another match in less than one week burdensome.

"We didn't get much time to prepare for Tivoli," he said. "They haven't played in a while and this is our third game in a week. I hope fatigue doesn't set in."

Understandably, Tivoli's immediate fixture against Harbour View was postponed last Sunday and this will be their first match in a fortnight.

"It hurt the players very hard," Rose said about the reason for that Tivoli layoff, Simpson's passing. "Compared to a week ago, they (players) have improved. But it's still haunting them and they're trying. We're trying to get them to refocus. We want to carry out the work that we set out to do which is to win."

Games On

Tivoli vs St Georges at 5p.m.
Rivoli vs Portmore at 5p.m.
Village vs Arnett at 3:30p.m.
Sporting vs Waterhouse at 3:30p.m.
H View vs Humble Lions at 6:30p.m.
B Town vs August Town at 3:30p.m.
(Home teams are named first)

Standings

Teams P W D L GF GA GD PTS
St Georges 8 5 3 0 10 2 8 18
Tivoli 7 5 1 1 15 5 10 16
H View 7 4 3 0 10 4 6 15
Portmore 8 3 4 1 7 5 2 13
Village 8 2 5 1 7 7 0 11
Sporting 8 2 3 3 6 5 1 9
Arnett 8 3 0 5 10 11 -1 9
Boys' Town 8 1 5 2 5 5 0 8
Rivoli 8 1 4 3 5 8 -3 7
W'house 8 2 1 5 6 14 -8 7
H Lions 8 1 3 4 8 12 -4 6
August Twn 8 1 2 5 3 14 -11 5