Facing the bogeyman

THE JAMAICA Premier League (JPL) climaxes this Sunday with Mount Pleasant against Cavalier in the final match at Sabina Park at 7 p.m.

Cavalier are hunting for their second title in three seasons, while Mount Pleasant are seeking their first hold on the JPL trophy in their debut final.

Mount Pleasant come into the championship game as the favourites but Cavalier have been their bogey team since they entered the Premier League in 2018, the latter winning seven times and losing twice in 15 games.

Although Mount Pleasant have the better results this season, after a win and a draw, Cavalier coach Rudolph Speid believes they still have the measure of their opponents and expect to do the business on Sunday.

“We know we are pushing uphill. We have lost a lot of players. As a matter of fact, we only have four players who would have been at that (previous) final. So it is an uphill task for us.

“But everybody knows Cavalier. We only know how to play one way, as our name suggests. In the earlies, nobody was talking about us and we quietly went about our business and got to the final and come Sunday again, we will again quietly do the business that we have to do,” he said.

According to Speid, his team has been built on pace this season, and he insists that will be the key to unlocking the Mount Pleasant defence.

“We have a lot of pace, pace like fire and Cavalier are ready. We will not back down. We are coming and may the best team win,” said Speid.

“We know what we have to do and we always get the goods. We have always prevailed in adversity, when everybody expects us to fail and this is just another obstacle in our way.”

The parish of St Ann has never had a national champion but Mount Pleasant coach Theodore Whitmore is looking to change all of that and create a legacy.

“Reaching the final for the first time is a great achievement. It is something we set out to do from we entered Mount Pleasant, the task has always been June 11th.

LEAVE A LEGACY

“We have created a bit of history, being the first to take Mount Pleasant to the final, but we not only want to create history, we want to leave a legacy in St Ann.

“We want to do the best we can for Mount Pleasant because we want to keep Mr [Peter] Gould [Mount Pleasant owner] happy,” he said.

Whitmore said the Cavalier team is formidable but that they will not try to change things too much for the game.

“Cavalier is a good team but you will not see anything different from Mount Pleasant. We are in the final and we believe in what we have been doing all season.

“We do not want to get things complicated and get thing confused. So we are just going to do what Mount Pleasant have been doing all season. Both teams go into the final with a 50-50 chance. But we hope we can turn the 50 into 70 or 80,” he added.

The final will also be a showdown between the league’s leading marksmen, Colin Anderson versus Trivante Stewart, for the golden boot.

Anderson leads the race with 19 goals, one more than Stewart, and both coaches have nothing but praise for their respective strikers.

“There are no words to express. Trivante has been doing what he knows best. He has been working and his attitude is great, so what he is doing is no surprise,” Whitmore commented.

However, Speid believes he has the better of the two strikers.

“Of course he (Stewart) is good. But at the same time, he is not leading the Premier League. We have a player that is better and he hasn’t scored any penalties. So Mount Pleasant has to deal with him,” said Speid.

In the third-place match at 3 p.m., deposed champions Harbour View take on Arnett Gardens.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

Meet the finalists

Mount Pleasant

Head coach: Theodore Whitmore

Titles: None

Finals Appearances: Debut

2023 Regular season finish: Third Place (46 points, +26 GD)

Road to Final: Defeated Dunbeholden 4-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals, defeated Arnett Gardens 5-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals

Key Players: Trivante Stewart, Demario Phillips, Leonardo Rankin

Cavalier

Technical Director: Rudolph Speid

Titles: Two (1981, 2021)

Finals Appearances: Six

2023 Regular season finish: Second place ( 52 points, +23 GD)

Road to Final: Defeated Harbour View 3-0 on aggregate in the semi-finals

Key Players: Collin Anderson, Shaniel Thomas, Ronaldo Webster.