HAVING failed to capitalise on numerous opportunities which saw their first-leg encounters end in stalemates, four of the country’s top-flight teams will be aiming for better execution as much will be at stake in their decisive Lynk Cup quarter-final leg today.

The double-header at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex could not be more intriguing, with reigning Jamaica Premier League champions Harbour View and Chapelton Maroons set to pick up from where they left off at one goal a piece at 4:00 pm, while Cavalier and Mount Pleasant FA will also start at a similar scoreline in the 7:00 pm feature contest.

If the game was to be played on paper then Harbour View — given their history, experience and current vein of form in top flight football — would easily secure their semi-final berth in this competition which is set to serve up $1.65 million and $1.45 million for the winners and runner-up, respectively, while the third- and fourth-placed teams are to receive just over $1 million and $800,000, respectively.

But, much like Chapelton Maroons proved in the opening contest, the size and quality of a team matters very little if the players don’t deliver the goods on the day, as they forced their more illustrious opponents to come from behind on that occasion.

The fact that the Clarendon-based outfit have also been relegated from the Premier League makes them even more dangerous in this knockout format, as it represents their opportunity to end a dismal top-flight debut campaign on a high.

Simply put, Brazilian Coach Clovis de Oliviera and his team basically have nothing to lose — and it would come as no surprise if they threw the proverbial kitchen sink at the “Stars of the East” today.

Defender Osani Ricketts, who popped up to score in the first leg along with Evan Taylor, Earon Elliott and Malike Stephens are some of those expected to bring the fight for Chapelton Maroons.

Still, anyone who knows Harbour View’s Head Coach Ludlow Bernard would be very much aware that he is not one to accept sub-par performances too often, and it is almost certain that last week’s post-match and today’s pre-match talks did, and will, remind players of that.

On that note, a much-improved performance should be on the cards for Harbour View who boast the likes of last week’s scorer Shawn Daley, J’Havier Lynch, Cristojaye Daley and Oshane Staple. Whether or not they will come up trumps is left to be seen.

The same is true for Mount Pleasant and Cavalier as neither team made the most of their respective defensive lapses in the first leg and, as such, failed to separate themselves.

But if the words of Cavalier’s Coach Rudolph Speid and that of his counterpart Theodore Whitmore are anything to go by, then spectators will be in for a treat in what should be a blockbuster contest between two highly talented teams.

Speid, who believes his team had Mount Pleasant at their mercy in the early stages of the last encounter, has promised to field a stronger starting team on this occasion, while Whitmore’s concerns about fitness, or the lack thereof, for his team should now be resolved after a round of JPL fixtures.

Ronaldo Webster, who grabbed Cavalier’s goal, could now partner with Dwayne Atkinson and leading scorer Collin Anderson up front at the start, as opposed to the first contest in which all were second-half substitutes.

Whitmore will be banking on his scorer Atapharoy Bygrave, Melvin Doxilly, Dwight Merrick and Leonardo Jibbison for goals to push the St Ann team beyond their Corporate Area opponents.

Meanwhile, Thursday’s second-leg encounters seem much more straight- forward, provided Tivoli Gardens and Portmore United can contain Dunbeholden and Molynes United to maintain their 2-0 and 2-1 first-leg leads, respectively.

After Tommy Lawrence and young player Nickalia Fuller handed them victory, Tivoli Gardens Head Coach Jermaine “Teddy” Johnson stressed the need for his players to remain grounded, especially with this competition representing their lone shot at silverware this season, as they are out of contention for a play-off berth in the League.

The west Kingston team, though, will be without influential Captain Barrington Pryce, who was sent off late in the first-leg fixture.

“We are going to be without him — which is unfortunate — so we have to do what we have to do, which is adjust and put our best foot forward and see where we go from there,” Johnson told the Jamaica Observer.

For Dunbeholden, the task is simple: Overturn the deficit or face exit — and Head Coach Ricardo Smith does not need to remind his troops of that.

“We were poor in the first leg, terrible finishing in the attacking third. And then again, even though you are not scoring you are supposed to be defending better, and I don’t think we did that on the day. They [Tivoli] got two goals, and I think we can get two or three also, but it’s easier said than done. The guys have to come out, do much better at both ends of the field and work for it,” Smith insisted.

Molynes United, who scored first through Jermy Nelson, seem to have things a bit lighter with only one goal between them and Portmore United — and for sure Alex Thomas will take the gamble to go for it.

However Portmore’s front men, Stephen Young, Alvinus Myers and Alex Marshall, are in good nick, and so Molynes should be mindful not to leave themselves too open too early as an early goal or two would diminish their chances.