CATHERINE HALL, St James — Montego Bay United’s (MBU) quest to return to the Caribbean Football Union final round qualifying competition for next season’s CONCACAF Club championships starts today when they take on Cayman champions Scholars International in a Group Three game at the Montego Bay Sports Complex at 8:00 pm.

Three teams, including defending CFU Club champions Central FC of Trinidad and Tobago, who are due to arrive in the island this morning, are playing for one spot in the final round set for April at a venue to be announced.

Another Jamaican team Arnett Gardens booked their spot in the finals on Sunday, winning Group Four in the Dominican Republic.

This Group Three series was originally set for late February but was postponed due to the holding of the Jamaica parliamentary elections.

Scholars International and Central FC will meet on Friday at the same time and venue before what is expected to be a showdown between Montego Bay United and Central FC on Sunday, also at 8:00 pm.

Scholars International, one of the more established teams there, are being coached by former Jamaican youth international Colin ‘Dougie’ Rowe, who also represented Wolmer’s Boys’ in the Manning Cup, and he thinks his team will be the “underdogs” of Group Three.

Rowe, who told the Jamaica Observer he played his national football under coaches Lebert Halliman and Patrick ‘Jackie’ Walters, said his players were mostly young and inexperienced. “Some are playing out of the Cayman Islands for the first time, but we think they deserve the chance to play in this competition.”

Most of his players, he said, had to juggle full-time jobs with playing football, and while the objective was to upset the bigger-named teams, they were not measuring their success solely on points earned.

“It’s a big task to go up against these teams,” he said, “but we have to do the basics and hope for the best. For me if the players go out and execute what we ask, that would be a plus; the whole objective is to go to the next round and all the teams are in it to win, but we are focussed on our objectives.”

While they had about four present and former national team players in their squad, including one who was part of a Cayman Under-23 team that played Montego Bay United in a friendly last year, Rowe said “we are looking at a team effort, not individuals”.

The hosts, he said, are the team that they think will give them a tougher fight. “Montego Bay United is fast and aggressive, I have seen them. Central FC is a more technical team with lots of passing, but in my book the MBU team is the one to beat.”

Montego Bay United had topped their first-round group in Haiti last year, but the presence of Central FC with their national team members will make qualification much more difficult.

Montego Bay United are sitting at the top of the Red Stripe Premier League table with 55 points, but had played a number of games more than the other teams as they prepared for this competition.

Owayne Gordon, Allan Ottey and Ronaldo Rodney had shown marked improvements and will carry the scoring hopes for Montego Bay United in what will be a crucial game for both teams.

Wing back Kemar Drake, who was part of the starting team in their CONCACAF Club Championships run, should be back to full fitness and will partner Orlando McBayne, Ladale Richie and Cordel Simpson in the back line, protecting goalkeeper Jacomeno Barrett.

The ever green Dwayne Ambusley, Jermaine Woozencroft and Keniel Kirlew could also feature for coach Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis.