The first big?clash of new Digicel Premier?League season, featuring the two champion teams of last year, will now be the headliner for tonight’s triple header at the Wildey AstroTurf Facility.
Premiership champions Weymouth Wales, with four new players in Carl “Lil Carl” Joseph, Jason “Fowlie” Blackman, Omar Primus and Kemar Bartlett, will battle last year’s knockout kings, the Barbados Defence Force (BDF)?at 8 p.m.
The BDF will have six new recruits in Romario Harewood, Kemar Chase, Shaquille Stewart, Akeem Browne, Rashad Jules and Jamal Alleyne.
Both teams will be without influential players from last season with Wales losing their two attacking midfielders in Paul “Soup” Lovell and Zaeehaeus Polius while BDF will miss their first-choice goalkeeper Saheka “Rossi” Duke for the early part of the season and midfielder Kadeem “Buju” Atkins, who has completed his stint with the force’s sports programme.
BDF will use either the experienced Terry Smith, a former Beverley?Hills goalkeeper, or youngster Dario Weir until Duke completes his enrolment in the army.
All eyes will be on 2012 Footballer of the Year, Mario Harte as he tries to get past Wales’ defence, which will once again be marshalled by veteran Julian Mottley, Shawn Clarke and Primus.
Apart from Harte, BDF’s coach Asquith Howell will have plenty of striking options with Chai Lloyd, Jamal Chandler, Kyle Gibson and Nicholas Best and new boy Stewart.
It won’t be surprising if Chandler and Romario Harewood are used in the midfield, alongside Raheim Sargeant, Browne and Shamar Edwards.
The acquisition of Joseph, known for his penetrating runs down the left flank, from Notre Dame, and Blackman, who is capable of doing the same on the right side, will give Wales more firepower in attack while Jabar “Buggy” Greene orchestrates play in the middle of midfield.
The BDF’s defence of Jason Lovell, Ricardio Morris, six-footers Teriq Highland, Zico Phillips, the rugged Paul Alexander and possibly Kemar Dottin and Baggio Harewood should have a testing time trying to keep Wales’ two front men, Dwayne Stanford and Kemar Headley, at bay.
The opening encounter at 4 p.m. will be between neighbours Dayrells Road and Mackeson Brittons Hill, who are coming off solid victories by two-goal margins in their first match over Cosmos and Youth Milan.
At 6 p.m., there will be the Christ Church derby between DirecTV Paradise and Pride of Gall Hill.
Paradise, buoyed by their 2-0 win over Families First St John Sonnets, will be hoping that Armando “Suga” Lashley sustains his goal-scoring form.
Gall Hill, who have added Romelle Burgess and Ramuel Millar, will be without key midfielder Renaldo Marques through injury. Teenager Jabarry “Pappy” Chandler is expected to start.