Concacaf Caribbean Cup Club Championship: Cavalier ready for Mt Pleasant slugfest St Ann team, Portmore United in do-or-die clashes

Cavalier Football Club have nothing to play for. Even though they cannot advance from Group B in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup Club Championship, they will not be granting any favours to Mount Pleasant Football Academy, which must win to qualify for the competition’s semifinal when two of Jamaica’s most successful clubs in recent years clash at the National Stadium today, beginning at 6 pm.

Duels

Both teams have had their fair share of duels, clashing in three of the last four Jamaica Premier League (JPL) finals. That is the reason why Cavalier’s head coach, Rudolph Speid, expects the contest to be intense.

“Probably our greatest rival in the modern era of football in Jamaica,” was how Speid summed up Mount Pleasant FA. “So the goal is always for us to get one (win), move on, and then I’m sure they have the same goal.”

Unlike his opposite number, Mount Pleasant’s head coach, Theodore Whitmore, downplayed the matchup.

“I wouldn’t see it as a rivalry; I think it’s two good teams playing against each other,” he said.

Cavalier, on two points from three matches, cannot advance beyond group play.

Mount Pleasant are in an entirely different position. Though they started their previous match on the brink of elimination from the competition, now they could finish top of the table in Group B. But, with four points and lying third, they must beat Cavalier.

Another Jamaican team, Portmore United, fourth on three points, also have a shot at making the semi-finals. They, too, are in a do-or-die situation, having to defeat the Dominican Republic’s Cibao FC in a match also slated to kickoff at 6 pm, in the Spanish-speaking country.

Onus

Only two from the five-team group will advance to the semis, and with the Dominican Republic clubs Salcedo FC and Cibao FC occupying first and second, on six and five points, respectively, the onus is on the Jamaican teams to win.

“It’s a massive game tomorrow,” admitted Whitmore, head coach of Mount Pleasant. “We know what we have to do … to really progress; (we’re) up against a tough, tough opponent in Cavalier FC, so we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

The teams are entering the contest with contrasting outcomes from last weekend’s opening round of the JPL, which saw Cavalier register a 2-1 victory over Dunbeholden FC.

However, Mount Pleasant suffered a shock 0-4 loss against JPL first-timers Tru-Juice.

That loss has caused some amount of unease among the Mount Pleasant fans, but Whitmore, who rested several regulars at the weekend, says they are focusing on the bigger picture.

“I can understand how they feel, but again, you have to understand the focus. We don’t want to go away from what we want to achieve.”

Haiti’s Violette FC topped Group A with a maximum 12 points after winning all four matches, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Club Sando emerged as the other semifinalist with seven points. The Dominican Republic’s Romana finished third in the group on five points, followed by Trinidad and Tobago’s Defence FC on three, and Suriname’s SV Broki, one point.