Portmore, Waterhouse clash for regional honours

A few weeks ago, Portmore and Waterhouse met at the National Stadium to decide the national championship. This evening, the top two local clubs will again lock horns, but this time for regional honours, when they square off in the decisive match of the Concacaf Caribbean Club championship at the Stadium East field at 8 p.m.

In the opening game at 5:30 p.m., Haitian clubs AS Capoise and Real Hope will meet in the battle for third place.

A win for either team this evening would secure top spot in the four-team group, as Portmore sit atop the standings with maximum six points, followed by Waterhouse with four, AS Capoise with one, and Real Hope yet to get a point.

Concacaf Champions League

The winner of the tournament will go directly into the Concacaf Champions League, the runner-up and third-place teams will earn spots in the Concacaf League, while the fourth-place team will play against the winners of the 2019 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield in a play-off to determine the final Caribbean spot to the 2019 Concacaf League.

Portmore coach Shavar Thomas is hoping they can put the ghost of the Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) final behind them and give the fans an entertaining match. “I expect a good, clean game, let it (match) be about football. I hope the Waterhouse team and staff come with the mindset of wanting to erase the wrong of what was displayed in front of the fans (RSPL final). I am not saying Waterhouse did anything wrong, but it’s about football, and we want to right the wrong and give the fans some good entertaining football and I am sure Waterhouse has the same mindset.

Meanwhile, Waterhouse’s assistant coach, Daniel Bent, admitted that Portmore have more experience in this competition but that they are positive about their chances.

“Portmore is a formidable team, the most consistent in the Premier League from 2015; they have been to all semi-finals and finals. They are seasoned campaigners in this competition, so we are looking for a nice, entertaining game and we hope that this time around, favour will be on our side. We have four points now and we are confident that we can top the championship,” he said.