Showdown! Reno face Wadadah for Western Confed title
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Football fans in this western city can hardly wait for what promises to be a thriller at Jarrett Park on Sunday.
Westmoreland-based Reno FC are favoured to take the Jamaica Football Federation’s Captain’s Bakery and Grill Western Confederation Super League title after a 1-0 win over Wadadah FC in the first leg final played at Frome last Sunday.
A draw against their Montego Bay-based rivals in this Sunday’s second leg will be good enough for Reno to lift the trophy and earn a place in the Jamaica Football Federation’s Confederation play-off for a place in the Premier League next season. However, such is the long history of stirring contests between these two teams nothing will be taken for granted.
The game is set to start at 6:30 pm following the Red Stripe Premier League fourth-round relegation zone game between Montego Bay United and Cavalier SC , set to start at 4:00pm.
Reno have enjoyed good results at Jarrett Park this season, including a 2-0 win over Wadadah FC in the third round and a 3-0 beating of Granville in their return leg semi-finals last week.
Despite this, however, the Reno coaching staff and players will be wary of a cornered Wadadah who had to beat Tomorrow’s People on penalty kicks in their semi-finals to get into a position to win their second Confederation title in four seasons.
Wadadah have not won a game in regulation time in their last four outings including both semi-finals. They must come good on Sunday if they are to maintain their chances of returning to the Premier League for the first time in over a decade.
Former national utility player O’Brian Woodbine who scored on Sunday is expected to lead the Reno charge but Craig Foster and Denmark Gillings have combined for 13 goals and will provide the Wadadah defence with lots to think about.
After a slow start to the season, Wadadah FC stocked up on players in the January transfer window and immediately boosted their stock as they went on a long win streak and made it to the mid-season finals where they were beaten by Tomorrow’s People.
Demar Dohman is the top scorer for Wadadah with six goals but Andy Johnson, Levardo Whyte and midfielders Olivier Traile and Loxley Thomas are also capable of getting goals.
