With fellow Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) club Waterhouse FC waiting in the wings in the semi-finals, defending champions Portmore United will begin their quest for back-to-back titles as they take on Dominican Republic champions Club Aletico Pantoja in their opening Group B game of the Flow Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex tonight at 7 o’clock.
The tournament which started last week has already filled in half of the semi-final bracket with Waterhouse and Dominican Republic outfit Cibao FC securing their places in the final four. Head coach Ricardo Gardner says that while he will not be taking any chances in their approach to the game, they are focused on ensuring that they impose their will on the opposition.
“The preparation has been good. Mentally and physically, we are there. We don’t know too much about the opponents but we will approach it with a bit of caution,” Gardner told The Gleaner. “We want to go out there and express ourselves and be at our best and go out there to entertain the crowd and play our game as much as possible.”
The reigning RSPL champions are in great form domestically having won four straight league games including the 4-1 win against Dunbeholden last Thursday in the final St Catherine derby of the season. They are currently on 42 points, four away from league leaders Waterhouse and Gardner is hoping that their performances over the last month will spill over into regional competition as he begins the journey towards his first piece of silverware as a head coach.
“We believe in ourselves a little bit more. The confidence is really high. The players are upbeat. We just have to continue that performance and I’m sure that we will perform to the best of our ability on the day,” he said. “If we perform to the best of our ability, I’m sure the result will fix itself.”
Portmore United enter a congested month that will test the depth of their squad. In addition to the Caribbean championship and league play, they will have one eye on their Concacaf Champions League round of 16 tie with Mexican club Cruz Azul beginning on February 18. In spite of the loaded schedule, Gardner says that the participation in the continental tournaments gives his players the stage to rise to the occasion.
“It’s a platform and an opportunity for our players to [give] a great account of themselves,” he said. Portmore United will hope to be on the path to advancement by the time group play concludes on Sunday when they face Haitian champions Arcahaie FC. Like Portmore, Atletico Pantoja are also in good form as they have won three of their last five matches while losing only once to semi-finalists Cibao on November 24 last year.