Vere can challenge for title – Duckie

Following Vere United's combative 0-0 draw with Mount Pleasant Academy in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) on Friday, coach Donovan Duckie is convinced that his team can compete for the title and said they have now accepted the challenge.

Although he previously declared that challenging for the title was not a part of their objective at the start of the season, he pointed out that their performances leading up to this point suggest that they can go toe to toe with the big boys and after Friday's hard-fought point against one of the title favourites, he is convinced they have what it takes to go all the way.

"What is pleasing to me is that the games are getting bigger. There's more pressure and it is a reality that we can compete to win the league.

"It wasn't one of our goals when we started (season) but it is a reality and we have to accept that we can put a foot forward and see where it ends, and we saw that in their reaction today as they were very competitive.

"We have not diverted from our long-term goal of building the project. But in our short-term we have shown that we are able to compete with the teams at the top level and we are looking for good things in the future," he said.

In a physical and hard-fought match, Mount Pleasant tried to dictate play but found a resilient Vere defence very tough to crack.

They did create a few openings in the first half but nothing to really trouble goalkeeper Kadeem Davis in goal.

Vere looked dangerous at the start of the second half and threatened with a couple long-range efforts and although Mount Pleasant regained control, they never looked like breaking down the Vere defence.

"They expected us to sit back in a deep block but we didn't. They were very uncomfortable, they didn't get to flow as they wanted to, so kudos to us.

"We defended well and our transition was good up until the final third. In the future if we could add a little quality out there, we will be a force to reckon with," Duckie added.

Mount Pleasant coach Walter Downes admitted that it was a frustrating afternoon for his team.

"We should have shown more quality on the ball. We had more possession but we were off today. So it was disappointing for us," Downes said.

Both Vere and Mount Pleasant are tied on 15 points. Cavalier also have 15 points but a better goal difference puts them in second spot.