This afternoon could prove crucial at either end of the Premier Division table when three crunch clashes take place across the island.

While all eyes are on title rivals North Village and PHC at the top of the table, at the other end, Young Men’s Social Club and Somerset Trojans are battling to avoid the drop.

At Bernard Park, Village can secure the title if they win against Trojans, a result that would effectively relegate their opponents, in the seemingly unlikely event PHC fall to the already demoted X-Roads at PHC Field.

Somerset coach Jensen Rogers, whose side need nothing but a win to stand a chance of survival, painted a vibrant atmosphere in his camp, as his players brace for their most significant fixture of the season.

“The game against Village is probably the biggest game of our season because we know what we have to do,” Rogers said.

“Right now the feeling in camp is a good one. I’m just happy the boys are approaching this match with the right mentality and attitude.

“We’re asking for the simple things, effort, desire, passion, and togetherness. That Trojans mentality, what it means to play for this club.

“I’m just hoping that on Saturday we put our best foot forward.

“Hopefully, we get the result that we want.“If we do our job and we get the result, hopefully, we still have to bank on the other result going our way.”

For Somerset to survive, they have to pick up three points against Village, while hoping that Social Club do not get at least a point when they face Hamilton Parish at Wellington Oval.

Michael Smith, the Social Club coach, is not putting any pressure on his players.

“If we put in a good performance then I think we’ll be OK at the end of the game,” Smith said.

“I don’t want to put too much pressure on my boys, but what we want to do is put in consistently good performances.

“We’re not worried about what’s happening in other games.

“We’re just concentrating on what is in our control.”

Social Club, with five wins this campaign, are keen to avoid being relegated in just their first season in the Premier Division in more than three decades.

“The season has been full of ups and downs with injuries and things of that nature,” Smith added.

“We didn’t have the depth that we would have liked. That’s something that we’ll definitely be looking into, once we confirm our status in the Premier Division for next season.

“This is our first season in the Premier Division. Social Club had not been in the Premier Division for about 37 years I do believe.

“So, we were definitely excited to be in the Premier Division. We were looking forward to it, we embraced the season, and learnt a lot.”

In the championship race, if Village and PHC win their respective matches this afternoon, then the destiny of the title will be decided on Tuesday night when the two collide at the Flora Duffy Stadium.

Village have all the momentum in their quest to be crowned champions since they last won the title in the 2019-20 season, which was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. They have picked up six points and scored eight goals in their last two matches.

The league leaders have been preparing to face Somerset without coach Kenny Thompson and three players, who were away with the national team for the Fifa Series. Detre Bell, Daion Swan-DeSilva, Jai Bean are the Village players who travelled to Saudi Arabia, with the three only arriving back on the island on Thursday.

For PHC, the defending league champions, a point and one goal is what they have recorded in two encounters, their 1-1 draw with Paget allowing Village to overtake them. A week before, Quincy Hunt’s side had goalkeeper Quinaceo Hunt to thank for saving a penalty against Hamilton Parish, which earned them a point in a 0-0 stalemate.