BOYS’ Town coach Andrew Price thinks his team is poised to challenge for the Digicel Premier League title, but reckons a failure to collect at least another 14 third-round points could seriously thwart their efforts.

The former three-time champions edged Humble Lion 1-0 on Sunday for their second consecutive win of the round, which kept the pressure on leaders Tivoli Gardens, who are just two points ahead on 44.

And the Red Brigade now have the perfect opportunity to leapfrog their West Kingston neighbours into first place when they meet today in the top-of-the-table clash at Collie Smith Drive.

“This is the make or break round, so we have to be consistent,” Price noted.

“At the start of the season we set a goal to achieve at least 20 points every round and we did that in the first round, but fell short in the second.

“I believe once we continue to accumulate points we’re going to challenge the leaders, and that’s all I can ask my team to do.”

Price believes that more specifically, they need to exercise greater concentration for the duration of matches.

“We have to continue being committed and play for 90 minutes or more,” he told the Observer. “A lot of the games in the past we played sporadically, but I want my team to play some good, hard-nose football for the entire match,” he added.

According to Price, the return of influential midfielder Oneil ‘Bigga’ Thompson from English League Two outfit Hereford will improve that aspect of their game.

“Oneil brings a lot of professionalism that the team doesn’t have. He has a lot of experience playing overseas and I think with him and the likes of Michael Campbell, Wayne Ellis, plus youngsters Marvin Morgan, Renae Lloyd and Jamiel Hardware, we have a good blend of youth and experience,” he said.

Price believes that their drive to continue eking out favourable results while not being at their best will also be a plus.

“I think we displayed a lot of character… against a good Humble Lion team, because a number of our senior players were out on injuries, but the replacements did well, so I really find it gutsy for us to come down here (Effortville) and collect three points.

“Whenever we play at home we always want to win, but to get a win on the road is really a bonus,” Price said.