THE LIME/St Catherine D1 League returns from the holiday break with two matches today.

Leaders Old Harbour Bay FC entertain basement club Cumberland FC at the JPS playfield, while mid-table sides Watson Grove FC and Albion United battle at the former’s home turf.

With the transfer window now open, both Watson Grove and Albion are expected to go shopping for players in an effort to improve their standings.

Fourth-placed Watson Grove are having an indifferent season and it’s hard to predict which team will turn up. Their performance in the campaign has been underlined by a 4-0 defeat away to strugglers Waterford, before carving out a 3-0 victory in their journey to Flamingo.

They have bagged seven points out of a possible 12 at home, which includes the scalp of second-placed Travelers FC in round four.

Sheldon Deans, with three goals to his name, has been the man shouldering the responsibility for Watson Grove.

Coach Anthony Williams will be calling upon him once more, and the supporting cast, to deliver a positive result.

But Albion should ask some questions of Watson Grove as they are on a high following back-to-back victories on the road in their last two outings, albeit against teams ranked below.

Old Harbour Bay are at full strength with no injury worries going into a match that they are expected to win. Leading marksman Lowan Myers and Jevaughn Smith will start up front, while Coach Marlon Johnson has indicated that he will be exposing some of his Under-17 players to gauge their readiness for the long season ahead.

The contest pits two teams at extreme opposite ends. High-riding and unbeaten Old Harbour Bay are three points away from guaranteeing a spot in the January 19 mid-season finale and will be oozing with confidence as they await a Cumberland side that is without a point after seven matches.

“The guys are pumped up for this game and they would want to stamp their dominance in this game, especially after beating McCook Pen. (Lowan) Myers and (Jevaughn) Smith will be starting together. But we also will be injecting a few of our youngsters who we expect will go out there and try to prove themselves and to us that they are ready to compete at this level,” Johnson told the Observer.

There is the likelihood of a few new recruits in the Cumberland unit, but testing them against a ‘Bay’ side might prove a difficult exam to pass for Dalton Scott’s boys.

Six days ago, Old Harbour Bay stunned Major League outfit McCook Pen FC, 3-1, to reach the semi-finals of the parish knock-out competition, with Smith grabbing a brace.

It will be difficult envisaging them dropping points, especially at home.