TUCKER, St James

AFTER being idle for 10 days since their opening 1-1 draw against Reno FC, Red Stripe Premier League champions Montego Bay United (MBU) will have a busy schedule over the next four days.

This afternoon, MBU will face Waterhouse at the Stadium East field, in a repeat of last season’s final, before a home game at Wespow Park on Sunday against Boys’ Town.

Montego Bay United shocked favourites Waterhouse 5-2 in the finals, to win their first title, which is the first for a western Jamaica team in 17 years.

Coach Carlos Garcia, who spoke to the Jamaica Observer West while watching Waterhouse’s CONCACAF qualifying club championships game against US Major League Soccer outfit DC United at the National Stadium on Tuesday, said while the tight schedule is not ideal “we have to deal with it”. “It is not ideal, we have not played in 10 days and then we have to play two games in four days, but we will do what we have to do,” Garcia said.

Today’s game will be Waterhouse’s first of the Premier League season, while Boys’ Town drew 1-1 on Sunday, after losing their first game 3-0.

The time-off, Garcia explained, gave MBU time to work on the mistakes that were noticeable in their draw against Reno. He added that his team is in a more settled mood than last week.

There were uncertainties about the game being played, as Montego Bay United had threatened to boycott their first three games as a mark of protest against how the league is being run.

Meanwhile, it is uncertain if a number of players who were missing from the team would be back in the team for any of these games this weekend.

Striker Dino Williams, who scored a hat-trick in the finals against Waterhouse last season, is still doubtful after missing the Reno FC game. He is reportedly suffering from a groin injury, while defenders Orlando McBayne and Cordel Simpson had also missed that game with minor injuries.

While MBU managed to create a number of chances against Reno FC, their finishing left a lot to be desired with Allan Ottey missing two good scoring chances at the end of either half.

Omar Gordon, Kemiro James and Ronaldo Rodney are expected to carry the attack for MBU this weekend and must be on form if they are to come away with positive results.