Still alive

With Cavalier FC facing the possibility of surrendering their Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League title, Assistant Coach David Laylor remains confident the team can overturn the tie against Montego Bay United (MBU) in today’s second-leg semi-final at the National Stadium.

At 9:00pm, the two-time defending champions need to register an outright win if they’re to make their fourth-consecutive final after going down 0-1 to MBU in the first leg on Sunday.

Although MBU dominated the game with nearly 70 per cent possession and 18 shots at goal compared to Cavalier’s one, Rudolph Speid’s men only faltered at the end when midfielder Adrian Reid Jr turned the ball into his own net in the third minute of second-half stoppage time.

Cavalier have lost three-straight games to MBU and have only beaten them once in their last seven encounters.

Laylor knows the quality of the St James-based club but says his youngsters can get the job done.

“We planned for them but we have younger players, less muscles, quicker to get fatigued while they have stronger players,” he said.

“Montego Bay are a very organised team and we didn’t get a lot of chances. They stood fast and they came out on top, it’s a good look for them this round but we have a next round to play. The reality is we planned to defend well [on Sunday] and [Wednesday] we plan to attack better.”

Four-time champions MBU, who are looking to make their first final in 10 years, are hoping to go one better this season after losing in the semfinals to Mount Pleasant Football Academy last year.

It would also be Xavier Gilbert’s first-ever final as a senior men’s head coach, having joined the club last summer from Arnett Gardens, where he guided them to third-place finishes in 2024 and 2025.

Gilbert says there’s still work to be done against Cavalier, but believes his team is firmly in the driver’s seat.

“We have to refocus and know that keeping a clean sheet in the next game takes us into the final and that’s what we’re going to focus on. We’re not going to ease up, we’re still going to play our usual style of play,” he said. “We’re cognisant of the threat that they pose and we just have to balance things and manage proceedings.”

“We just have to do what we do best, which is keeping the ball, rolling the ball around, pressuring the opposition and once we do that, I think we should be fine. Of course, we are mindful of what they can do and how threatening they can be and once we take that away from them, the job becomes easier for us. They’re going to have to make some adjustments but we’re going to sit and analyse what we did well, see what we can improve on and fix the things we thought we should have done better,” Gilbert added.

In the other second-leg semi-final at 6:00 pm, Mount Pleasant will be looking to secure their fourth-straight JPL final appearance as they hold a one-goal advantage over Portmore United.

Warner Brown’s 82nd minute goal on Sunday has given the Caribbean Cup champions the edge after their 3-2 victory on Sunday.

Head Coach Theodore Whitmore says his team cannot take Portmore lightly despite only needing a draw to advance.

“There’s a lot of things we can take from the first game but I can assure that what we don’t want to go into the next leg with the mindset that we are leading by one goal,” he said. “It can be dangerous because normally when you are leading one goal, you tend to sit back and allow your opponent to play, so we are aware of that complacency.”

Portmore United, looking for their first final since 2019, have only beaten Mount Pleasant once in their last 12 matches and the last time they scored more than one goal against them was back in March 2022.

However, Assistant Coach Ricardo Smith is confident his team has what it takes to win and brush off the first-leg controversy, which saw the referee overturn Cory Burke’s strike, which would have given them the lead.

“For the longest while, it’s the bravest we have been on the ball. I think we had control of most of the game,” he said. “We can do it, I believe we can do it. And the attitude and the mentality, they were not even that much upset in the dressing room. They keep just saying, ‘come on, we can do it.’”

Montego Bay United’s Jahmari Clarke wins the header against Cavalier FC defender Akil Henry in their Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League first-leg semi-final at the National Stadium on Sunday, May 17, 2026. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)

Portmore United’s Romeo Guthrie (left) challenges Mount Pleasant Football Academy’s Raheem Edwards in their Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League first-leg semi-final at the National Stadium on Sunday, May 17, 2026. (Photo: Garfield Robinson)