RENO could egde closer to qualifying for next season’s Digicel Premeir League (DPL) with a win over Cavalier as the second round of the play-off series get underway this afternoon.

However, their opponents will want to ensure that the race goes down to the wire and will be aiming to take three points when they entertain the Westmoreland side at the UWI Bowl, starting at 1:30.

In the other game, Benfica go in search of their first win when they host Meadows at Drax Hall, also starting at 1:30.

Leaders Reno dropped their first points of the campaign when they were held to a 2-2 draw by Meadows at Frome last Wednesday.

They face another difficult task this afternoon when they travel to the Bowl to play Cavalier. Reno beat their rivals 2-0 in their first-round meeting, but coach Wendell Downswell knows that will be irrelevant to today’s encounter.

Downswell expects a tough match from the Corporate Area side, but believes his team knows what it takes to come away with a positive result.

Their opponents Cavalier blew a great opportunity to move within a point of the leaders on Wednesday after they twice surrendered the lead to finish 2-2 with Benfica.

Coach Lamar Morgan says although they are not taking Reno lightly, they intend to take three points at home.

“We don’t want to lose these three points at home and that’s why we are going into the match with a positive intention…,” he said.

He said although Reno drew their last game at home, they are a very capable side: “We played them in our first game and tactically they are organised, they are strong, they run hard and they can play,” he said.

After gaining their first point and scoring for the first time in three matches, Benfica remain buoyant and are confident against Meadows.

“We scored two goals on the road and came away with a draw… we’re now scoring but we now need to work on the defensive aspect of our game,” said club president Tyrone Rose.

Rose said his team will be closer to Reno and on par with one of the other teams after this game.

“They (Meadows) went to Cavalier and did well and went to Reno and did fairly well, so they are adjusting to playing on the road, so we expect that they will come expecting to give us a good game. But it must be that we have four points at the end of the match,” he insisted.

Meadows’ coach Christopher Russell is anticipating a more confident Benfica team from the one they defeated in their first meeting.

“Getting a draw away has definitely given them back a spark, so we know they’ll be coming at us, but we intend to be very vigilant, respect them and play our game,” he said.

After three matches, Reno sit atop the standings with seven points, followed by Cavalier and Meadows on four each, and Benfica with one.