DIGICEL Premier League leaders Harbour View will hope to send a strong message to ‘red hot’ Waterhouse when they meet in the second End-of-Round Final today at the National Stadium at 7:00 pm.

The teams will be battling for the winning prize of $250,000, with the runners-up collecting $150,000.

Harbour View, on 42 points, lead second-placed Waterhouse by three points and although they won’t be accumulating points for this game, Harbour View will want to win the psychological battle and signal their intentions for the overall title.

“It’s going to be a psychological thing. They had beaten us once for the season. They are one up on us and although we won the three points in the first game, the game itself ended in a draw,” said Donovan Hayles, coach of Harbour View.

“Where the Premier League is concerned, we have no intention of relinquishing our lead. It’s important to win the cup, but it’s basically bragging rights we’re playing for and psychological advantage,” he added.

At the end of the first round, Waterhouse were in seventh spot with 13 points while Harbour View were third on 22.

Waterhouse then rattled up an impressive run, winning 12 of their last 17 games and garnered 26 second-round points in the process.

That impressive streak have seen them move from seventh to second place and based on current form, are favoured to win the DPL.

Coach Geoffrey Maxwell, told the Sunday Observer both teams deserve to be in the final for being the top two teams in the league at the moment.

Said Maxwell: “It’s a deserved final because No 1 plays No 2 in the overall Premier League standing. We always respect our opponents, although we have had the better of Harbour View this season,” he said.

He added: “We still maintain this confidence level that we can go there and still win this trophy. But the important factor here is that the team must continue to focus on the big picture… this is just one step for us.”

With focus being the key word, Maxwell was not pleased with his team’s display leading up to the final and even threatened to use the Under-21 squad for today’s game.

“The reason behind that, and it was not a bluff, was because when the team realised they had qualified with two games to go, they lost focus and lost our way.

“So I told them point blank that if I wasn’t happy with the team focus and the training up to Wednesday or Thursday of this week I would have used the Under-21s, and that wasn’t a bluff.

“So they took it serious and we had a very good week of training and the team is back to its normal way of winning. The whole focus is there,” Maxwell said.

Both teams will be missing key players in Jermaine Hue of Harbour View and Weston Forrest of Waterhouse. Hue is out following a red card while Forrest has accumulated three yellow cards.

It is a situation which makes Maxwell pity both players.

“We both go in there without one of our more potent players. It being a final and no one wants to miss a final at the National Stadium and my heart goes out to Jermaine Hue and Weston Forrest.”

Harbour View will be hard press to replace Hue’s playmaking skills, but National Under-20 player Romario “Rum Rum’ Campbell could announced himself on the main stage.

“We will be out of our service with our playmaker Jermaine Hue and will be using a young Romario Campbell to replace him. It will be a good opportunity for him to launch his career at this stage,” Hayles confirmed.

But the onus will be on Kavin Bryan, Lovel Palmer, Richard Edwards and Dicoy Williams, along with young guns Andre Fagan and Andre Steele.

Harbour View and Waterhouse have met twice this season and although the record books will show a win apiece, Harbour View’s victory came in the boardroom after drawing 1-1 against their opponents.

On September 20 Waterhouse used an ineligible player and were penalised and handed a 0-3 defeat.

But in the return fixture on November 29, they blanked Harbour View 2-0 and will want to show that that result was no fluke.

The key to Waterhouse’s victory will be 12-goal hero Kevin Lamey, who seems to be getting better with age.

He should be complemented by captain Kenardo Forbes, Hugh Howell, Keneil Moodie, Nicholy Findlayson, Damion and Jonathan Williams.

Whatever, the outcome it should be an intriguing encounter, with Waterhouse’s more physical advantage perhaps the decisive factor.