Manchester Spurs will be looking to maintain their perfect start when they go for win number four of Netball Jamaica’s Berger Elite League in the feature game of today’s double-header against St Ann Orchids at 7:00 pm.

With national talent aplenty and both teams coming off a win, the match is expected to be hot.

Shooters Anna-Kay Griffiths, Giselle Allison and Nicole Dixon have been leading the charge for the Spurs, while Thristina Harwood and Rebekah Robinson, their national counterparts, will be piping it at the other end for the Orchids, the defending champions.

Manchester Spurs have easily been the most dominating since the start of the season, as they eased past St Catherine Racers 41-37 in their first match, before blowing away St James Sharpes 59-46, then thumping Kingston Hummingbirds 61-14 — the largest winning margin this season — on Thursday.

Griffiths led Spurs’ scoring with 38 goals from 48 attempts, while Dixon, 14 of 20 and Allison, nine from 13, accounted for the other goals. Sabrina Spence, 30 from 36 and Shanice Beckford, 10 from 13, were the Hummingbirds’ scorers.

Despite their prowess, former national captain and coach Connie Francis, who is head coach of the Spurs, expects a tough challenge.

“That game is going to be a tough one. We have two national defenders and they are playing extremely well, but the Orchids, if we allow them to settle, they can be very, very dangerous,” she observed.

The Orchids are also coached by a former top national player Janet Guy. They have also played three matches, but lost once, 34-47 against Kingston Hummingbirds.

The St Ann outfit tasted success against Clarendon Gaters, beating them 58-34 in their opening game, before Thursday night’s nail-biting 41-40 humdinger over St Catherine Racers.

In Thursday’s match, Thristina Harwood led the Orchids with 25 goals from 34 attempts, while her national counterpart Rebekah Robinson scored 16 from 24. Shanice Howe, 17 from 19; Kestina Sturridge, 16 from 22; and Tracy Francis, seven of 10, scored for the Racers.

“We had a game yesterday and we see where we need to fix certain areas of our play; mid-court and the shooters need to build their confidence and get the balls into the hoop because goals win matches,” said Guy.

“It’s just to fix certain things. We still need to learn how to protect the ball and score goals. So we’re looking for a competitive game as long as the adjustment comes,” she analysed.

Francis, given her team’s ascension game by game, believes they have already worked out the kinks and is full of confidence in their abilities.

“This team is awesome,” she said. “They’ve risen to all occasions, they’ve the belief that they can beat any team now and I’m just going to encourage them.”

In the opening game, scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm, Kingston Hummingbirds, still licking their wounds, will be hungry to rebound as they hunt their third win in four matches. They had won their opening games 47-34 over the Orchids and 44-22 against St Catherine Racers, before running into the Spurs’ brick wall on Thursday.

The Gaters, on the other hand, are even hungrier for a win, having lost all three matches. Interestingly, they lost their last two matches by a single goal and must be thinking victory is only a play away.