Tivoli's Navion Boyd

Tivoli Gardens' assistant coach, Alvin Shaw, yesterday insisted that his team's title charge will not be derailed by the pursuing Boys' Town.

Speaking ahead of today's round of matches in the Digicel Premier League, Shaw said they are just looking at the big picture.

"It has not put any pressure on us, we are still in the lead and we are focused. It is important for us to keep winning, keep getting three points. Boys' Town are the ones that need to play catch-up, so we are not focused on them. We are just focused on what we have to do for the rest of the season, and that is win games," Shaw said.

The west Kingston-based club leads the league with 62 points from 34 games. Boys' Town are three points behind from the same number of games.

Tivoli also lead the league with a healthy 50 goals, 12 more than the nearest team but things have not gone well in front of goal in recent games with their much-vaunted attack of Navion Boyd, Roland Dean and Keammar Daley finding it difficult to score.

"The goalscoring let us down in the last match. We are looking for that to improve today, but let's not forget that Portmore (48 points) are a quality team," Shaw said.

Tivoli face tough fifth-place Waterhouse (47). They have a win apiece and a draw in three matches against each other this season.

title challenge

Boys' Town, however, will certainly not have things their own way as they travel to Portmore looking for three points to maintain their title challenge. For the Red Brigade head coach, Andrew Price, consistency will be key.

"We are going out there with the same mindset, and that is to take maximum points. We are not worried about the leaders, instead we are more focused on what we have to get done, and that is maximise our opportunities," said Price.

Boys' Town were dealt a major blow on Sunday when midfielder Oneil Thompson, inspirational for the Trench Town unit to date, picked up a red card. But Price believes the team is well equipped to cope.

"If you want to be champions you have to have a deep squad, and we believe we have players that can come in and do the job for Oneil," he said.

In the day's other top-six encounters, last year's champions Harbour View will battle Village United at the Harbour View Mini-Stadium.

In the bottom half of the table, Sporting Central (43) can mathematically assure themselves of a place in top-flight football next season with just a point against parish rivals Humble Lion (34), when the two meet at Brancourt. A loss would be disastrous for last-place Humble Lion, as a win for St Georges Sports Club (39) at Lynch Park against virtually safe Arnett Gardens (44) would leave Humble Lion in deeper trouble.

Second from bottom Benfica (37) will also have ambitions of springing the relegation trap, when they face a struggling Reno (41) at Frome.

Today's matches

3:30 p.m.: Sporting Central vs Humble Lion - Brancourt

3:30 p.m.: Reno vs Benfica - Frome Complex

4 p.m.: Portmore United vs Boys' Town - Ferdie Neita Park

5 p.m.: Tivoli Gardens vs Waterhouse - Edward Seaga Sports Complex

6:30 p.m.: St Georges vs Arnett Gardens FC - Lynch Park

7 p.m.: Harbour View vs Village United - Harbour View Mini-Stadium