Vasco's catch-me-if-you-can challenge to the rest of the First Division still stands, and this weekend PHC will attempt to succeed where others have failed when they meet their tenants at PHC Stadium.

Vasco are bidding to extend their unbeaten league and cup run to 10 games this season, though that run is becoming all the more difficult to stretch as teams become more and more determined to burst the Portuguese team's bubble.

The Zebras, by comparison have had an indifferent start to the season and need the points to steer clear of the relegation zone. They are presently third from bottom with just one win in four outings.

The weekend action begins this evening when St. George's travel to the west end to meet longtime rivals Somerset Trojans (9.00). This match should be one of the better matches as Somerset are third and St. George's fourth, both boast with 2-1-1 records from four outings. St. George's beat Somerset 2-0 in their first match of the season, the Martonmere Cup, but the Trojans have made steady progress since then. The game will be preceded by a Junior Division match between Somerset and BAA at 7.00.

The games between these two teams are always hard fought and there is plenty at stake this time around as the winners will stay at least two points behind leaders Vasco, who will be missing striker Dwight Basden because of a one-match ban.

Promoted Southampton Rangers have been the surprise team of the season, bouncing back from an opening day loss to Vasco by winning three games on the trot to lift themselves into second place. In that time they have also only conceded one goal, while the contribution at the other end of converted striker Janeiro Tucker has contributed largely to their success.

Tucker is the leading scorer in the First Division with six goals and he will be looking to make it seven or eight after tomorrow's home clash with defending champions Boulevard. The Blazers are desperate for a victory, having managed to draw three of their four matches so far which leaves them in the bottom half of the standings.

Mid-table North Village are looking to climb another rung up the ladder at the expense of struggling Somerset Eagles at White Hill Field. Eagles started with a bang by beating Devonshire Colts 1-0 at Frog Lane, but they have been brought down to earth with three straight losses and are already looking relegation candidates.

So too are last-placed Devonshire Colts who meet Dandy Town in tomorrow's other match. Town have struggled themselves so far, so Colts have a good chance of picking up at least a point. Last season's top strike pair Carlos Smith and MVP Darron Simons have not netted a single goal between them this season and were dropped for the last match against Boulevard.

Three Second Division matches are on tap with previous leaders Wolves looking to bounce back from two recent losses when they travel to St. David's to meet the surging Islanders.

St. David's showed no respect to Belco in their FA Cup match in midweek, romping to a 7-1 victory, and they looked a well drilled unit. Now they will be hoping to turn that into some good league performances which would lift them into the thick of the promotion race.

Wolves, however, are still the team to beat as they lead the division by a single point over Devonshire Cougars, prior to last night's Cougars-BAA match.

Tomorrow's other matches see last-placed Paget hosting Hamilton Parish at Southampton Oval and Social Club meeting Prospect at PHC Stadium.

A lot has been made about how young the First Division players are becoming, with a number of teams fielding teenagers in their line-ups. A look at the birthdates of the players show that Southampton Rangers have the oldest squad (average age about 29 depending on their starting team), with Boulevard, North Village and Somerset Eagles next in line with average ages of about 28 for Boulevard and 27 for Village and Eagles.

Rangers had six players over the age of 30 in their team for their last match against Eagles.

Some of the youngest teams are Somerset (average age 22) and PHC (23) with Devonshire Colts and Dandy Town at 24. St. George's also have an average age of about 24 depending on their team which has five players over 30.

Vasco, who traditionally have had some of the more senior players in the league, come in at about 26, with full-back Derek Stapley being the senior player in the team now that both Paul Towlson and Donovan Livingston are not playing.

Marvin Lewis has been suspended for two years by the Bermuda Football Association for his actions during the recent league match between Southampton Rangers and Dandy Town.

Lewis was found guilty of kicking a bottle onto the field of play while watching the match as a spectator. The bottle landed near referee Chris Terry who stopped the game for eight minutes in the second half. Lewis was already under a three match suspension when the incident occurred.

The winger has also been banned indefinitely from all club grounds.

JANEIRO TUCKER -- The First Division's top goalscorer (centre) will have Boulevard in his sights when he spearheads Rangers attack in tomorrow's clash.