Upfront hunt more success against Flamingo

BY ANDREW HANCEL Observer writer

Sunday, February 19, 2012

UPFRONT United will be looking to put some distance between them and Old Harbour Bay in today's 13th round of the LIME/St Catherine Division One.

The new leaders have taken full advantage of Old Harbour Bay's poor form of late and are confident of beating Flamingo, whom they host at Pollyground.

Travellers, in fourth, have lost once at home and, therefore, should have little trouble dispatching sixth-placed Watson Grove at Cheesefield, while seventh-placed Treadways are expected to return to winning ways when they host Waterford.

Old Harbour Bay have hit a rough patch of late, losing three of their last five league outings. In the lone round 13 fixture last Thursday, Marlon Johnson's side were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Albion United to remain second on 21 points.

But the result gives Upfront an excellent opportunity to open a five-point gap with victory over Flamingo, who defeated 'Bay' 1-0 last Sunday at Gordon Pen.

When these two teams met last October in Spanish Town, the game ended 3-3. But this time Upfront are favoured on the basis of their consistency

They remain the only unbeaten team in the competition and the truth is, was it not for drawing too many games in the first round Devon Lewin's side would have been in the mid-season final instead of Travellers.

The league is a long one though and the Ewarton-based club has hit top gear at the right time and it will be hard for any team to get a point from them. What appears to be a minor chink in Upfront's armoury is that they haven't made Pollyground a major stomping ground, as they have drawn more than a win there, albeit those results came in the first round.