WATERHOUSE FC and Humble Lion Football Club (FC), both unbeaten after three Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) match days, will put their respective records on the line when they clash at Effortville Community Centre in Clarendon today.

The scheduled kick-off time is 3:30 pm.

The visitors Waterhouse, back-to-back losing finalists, have exploded out the blocks to start the local football season. They lead the 12-team league table with nine points, scoring 10 goals while conceding none.

On the back of their progress in the regional Concacaf League, the St Andrew-based Waterhouse started the RSPL with a 1-0 win over Dunbeholden FC. They followed with a 2-0 victory against Vere in a rescheduled fixture and an imperious 7-0 spanking of Harbour View FC.

Humble Lion, in fourth place with five points, are also off to a good start.

They opened with a 3-1 beating of Arnett Gardens FC before 1-1 results against Mount Pleasant Football Academy and Cavalier FC.

Andrew Price, the Humble Lion head coach, is optimistic they can slow down the Waterhouse train.

“We are playing against a tough Waterhouse team preparing for the Concacaf League, so they are ahead of us in terms of preparation. But we believe we can get at them. We have got to be very attacking and impose ourselves from early. We’re at home at Effortville and that will be a plus,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

The Humble Lion coach said conceding a goal in each of their three games so far is cause for concern.

“We’ve been getting goals, but we’ve also been conceding them. So we’ve been working on cutting down the number of goals we concede. It’s down to concentrating for longer periods and that’s something that we have to do tomorrow,” Price explained.

Waterhouse Assistant Coach Damion Gordon is expecting a keen tussle.

“Humble Lion are a quality team. Over the years they have been consistent, and we’re expecting a tough match from them tomorrow,” he said.

Gordon said the visiting team is not likely to be bothered by what is expected to be a raucous reception from the home crowd.

“The atmosphere there will be a factor, but not a major factor to the final result. We have to play our game and be positive against them. We have to attack in numbers, but also be willing to defend,” he told the Observer.

— Sanjay Myers