Mount Pleasant, Cavalier in crucial clash
Published:Monday | June 20, 2022 | 12:11 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Mount Pleasant have failed to better Cavalier in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) in two meetings this season, but Cavalier coach Rudolph Speid believes it will be much different playing the St Ann team in the knockout stages of the competition.
The teams meet in a first-leg quarterfinal today at 7.30 p.m. at Sabina Park, and Speid says that although they have been weakened by the absence of three key players, currently involved in the Concacaf Under-20 championship, and national defender Richard King, who is nursing an injury, the team is prepared to get a win, and they will be coming to do just that in today’s first leg.
“We are not at full strength. We have two players (Lamont Rochester and Christopher Pearson) with the national under-20 team, and those are two key players. King is injured and he is touch-and-go. Jalmaro Calvin is with Antigua and Barbuda in the under-20 qualifiers, so we do not have four of our players,” Speid said
Cavalier slammed Mount Pleasant 3-1 in their last meeting, but that counts for nothing when they meet today, Speid said.
“In all of our encounters we have never met in a playoff where it is a must-win game. It is a different mentality, and we have to come and execute.
“They have strengthened in January, so we are not taking anything for granted. They can be dangerous on the attack.
“But we are no t afraid of anybody, no matter who we play. We will fight. It is an uphill task, but we are Cavalier, and anybody who gets the chance now will have to step up,” the Cavalier coach said.
BLOWOUT
Mount Pleasant coach Nick Eaden says the recent blowout to Cavalier was an anomaly and they are prepared to set the record straight.
“The playoffs are a lottery, and we have to make sure we are focused for the first leg. There is no added pressure. The owners are very ambitious people, and we know they want to win, so that comes with the territory.
“The players that have come in (January) have all come with the aim of winning the league. The first game (against Cavalier) at Sabina Park ended 0-0, and there was nothing much between the teams.
“The next game at Drax Hall we had a disastrous eight minutes. But we have said to the players that that is not going to happen again, and we are glad it happened in that game and not a playoff game.
“We have players who have won the league before. They know what it is like, they know what it takes. Hopefully, they will have a good playoff,” he said.
In the first quarterfinal at 5 p.m., Arnett Gardens will start favourites against Harbour View, and assistant coach Eric Rademakers said they must guard against complacency.
“I always find it more difficult playing the easier teams in a playoff situation. I have no doubt we can win, and it is all up to us.” he said.
Harbour View coach Ludlow Bernard said it will not be a walk in the park against them.
“Things are coming together, and if we can get our attacking game right and get a goal, we would have something to defend, and I believe we are more than capable of doing that,” Bernard said.