JPL playoff picture becomes clearer today
Published:Friday | September 3, 2021 | 12:10 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Vere United head coach Donovan Duckie says that although they appear to be in good stead, heading towards the Jamaica Premier League playoffs, his team cannot afford to be complacent in their top-of-the-table clash with Mount Pleasant.
The teams will meet today at 3:30 p.m. in the final game of a triple header at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence. It will be a contest that could have playoff qualification implications and also decide who secures a first-round bye as well as the overall number-one seed. While both teams are on 14 points, it is Vere United who remain in first place because of their superior goal difference (+3).
The Clarendon-based Vere United are coming off a 1-0 defeat to Tivoli Gardens, a match where Duckie mentioned challenges posed to preparation by the recent no-movement days imposed by the Government to curb the spread of COVID-19. While seemingly, they may be in a good position to confirm a playoff place, Duckie says that it is up to them to put their best foot forward to put their place in the top six beyond doubt.
“We are not even thinking about mathematics,” Duckie said. “We want to do the right things to ensure that at this stage, we put ourselves a foot in the top six, and that is the ultimate objective now. We have to be very focused, go back to the football field and continue to work.”
A win for either team would all but secure them a top-six finish. Mount Pleasant find themselves in a similar situation of being able to take first place outright as they were poised for a top-of-the-table clash with Waterhouse during the cancelled 2019-20 season, a match they did not play because of the pandemic.
SAME APPROACH
While they finally have that opportunity, Mount Pleasant technical director Wally Downes says they will be approaching this like any other game, knowing that they have to be on their guard against a team that has continued to have a great season.
“I think they took a lot of teams by surprise early in the season,” Downes said. “They have a very solid defensive formation, and they look to counter. We are aware of their strengths, and hopefully, we can address many of those situations and counteract those.”
Waterhouse will hope that they can ensure their place in the playoffs when they take on Molynes United at 10 a.m. Molynes can only seek to play spoiler to Waterhouse’s chances as the maximum points they can accumulate is 12, which would not be enough to give them a playoff place with four teams on 13.
Cavalier will play defending champions Portmore United at 1:30 p.m., knowing that they need three points to keep themselves in the hunt for a top-six finish. The game will be Portmore’s first of the Garnett Lawrence era. He was appointed as head coach this week after Ricardo Gardner migrated to the United Kingdom.
Today’s games at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence.
Molynes United v Waterhouse 10 a.m.
Cavalier v Portmore United 1:30 p.m.
Mount Pleasant v Vere United 3:30 p.m