Wadadah, Brazil aiming for victory

Kwesi Mugisa, Staff Reporter

Wadadah and Brazil will be determined to get going after a slow start to the Premier League play-offs when they face off in a rescheduled fixture at Jarrett Park at 7 p.m.

A pair of opening-round losses, Wadadah away to August Town and Brazil at home to Humble Lions, have left both top-flight football aspirants with a bit of early work to do, as they currently trail both those teams in the standings.

Having failed to secure a return to the Premier League despite being in the play-offs last season, Wadadah will be wary of the dangers of a slow start as last season the westerners failed to get on the board after their first three games, effectively ending their campaign before it had begun. It is a mistake their player-coach, Daniel Ricketts, will be keen on avoiding this time around.

"I already told the guys we can't look back, you can't keep thinking about last season, you have to look forward and that is what we will be doing," Ricketts told The Gleaner.

"We have three games at home and we have to take each of those games as a final. They are must-win games and if we can get those points I think we will be in good shape," he added.

"We started a bit slowly, but what is gone is gone and we are still pretty confident that we can progress from the competition," he said.

The only team so far to have lost a home game, Brazil, who went down 1-0 at their base to Humble Lions on the competition's opening day, will need to recover quickly if they are to keep their season alive.

However, after nearly a 12-year absence from top-flight football, the St Ann team have not yet given up on booking a spot in the top two. The team has performed creditably well since getting to the Super League four years ago, last season being the only year they failed to make a semi-final appearance.

"In the context of the competition, it might not be a must-win but we certainly see it that way," said Brazil coach David Pryce.

"The loss of the first game has probably impacted us more positively than anything else, maybe the guys weren't expecting that level of intensity but now we are eager to go out there and show what we have."