Last season’s Red Stripe Premier League runners-up Portmore United are sharpening for their Scotiabank CONCACAF League clash with CD Plaza Amador of Panama.

The first-leg fixture in the tie is scheduled for Wednesday at the National Stadium at 7:00 pm with the return-leg set for August 9 in Panama.

The five-time Premier League champions will be seeking to get the better of the Panamanian League runners-up to book their spot in the quarter-final of the competition. Portmore will be looking to a host of young stars as well as experienced squad members to drive their campaign.

Leading them are senior Reggae Boyz representatives Ewan Grandison, Ricardo Morris and Michael Binns.

The winners of the Scotiabank CONCACAF League will gain qualification to the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League.

General Manager of the Portmore United Clive Marshall believes the team is strong enough to see off their Panamanian counterparts and move on to the next phase of the competition.

“I believe we have the strength and quality in the squad to get the better of the Panamanians and advance to the next round. We have a lot of youthful players mixed with experienced campaigners, and the fact that Binns, Morris and Grandison are playing at such a high level ahead of the tie will benefit the team,” he said in a widely circulated release.

“The first-leg home tie is crucial, so we need to ensure that we capitalise at the National Stadium so we have an advantage heading to Panama on August 9. We will need the full support of Jamaica to succeed at our task,” Marshall added.

CONCACAF officials were in Jamaica on Monday, July 17 to conduct the final inspections on the National Stadium field and lights ahead of the fixture.

Plaza Amador is one of the oldest football clubs in Panama, and has won the Panamanian League on six occasions with their first title coming in 1988 and their most recent in 2016.