ALTHOUGH Cavalier SC has threatened a boycott of the Jamaica Premier League final against Mount Pleasant at Sabina Park on Sunday evening, should the game take place as planned, officials from the latter club say they expect a classic encounter.

Cavalier has boycotted all media activity over the last week in the lead-up to this game due to an incident during their Lynk Cup final last month when thieves stole team members’ personal items during the game.

The club is seeking compensation of around $3 million from Professional Football Jamaica as its Technical Director Rudolph Speid said the club had to spend its own money replacing the items which included phones, cash, clothing, footwear, and car keys.

This is not the first time a final has been in doubt as in 2016 Montego Bay United threatened to boycott their game against Portmore United because of what they said was disrespect shown to the club by the league’s organisers at that time.

They, however, showed up minutes before kick-off and went on to win the game. Although they protested then, their actions were perceived by some as mind games to unsettle their opponents, and perhaps Cavalier could be doing the same here.

However, Mount Pleasant Head Coach Theodore Whitmore, looking to secure the first national title in the club’s history, is unconcerned about what the opposition does as he is mainly focused on his own game plan.

“We expect a good game,” Whitmore told the Jamaica Observer. “It’s just for us to prepare our players tactically going into the game, and then once the execution is right, then we can live with what happens.”

Speid is known for playing containment football as he likes his team to soak up pressure from their opponents and hit them on the counter-attack. Going up against Mount Pleasant gives him that opportunity as they are known for their possession-based style.

Mount Pleasant goalkeeping coach, Warren Barrett describes Cavalier as a very good and very disciplined team.

“They won’t change the way they play,” he said. “They’re a transitional team. They love to use the width of the pitch and get crosses in from different areas of the pitch because Collin Anderson is very pacey and is the top scorer in the league [with 17 goals]. He’s done really well, along with Ronaldo Webster and Shaniel Thomas. Those three are the ones who tend to be at the forefront of their attack.

“We know what to expect from them and, likewise, they know what to expect from us because there’s nothing to hide and we won’t change the way we play. We are a possession-based team. We try to move the ball to create spaces and take advantage of it. It should be a very good game.”

Whitmore has the luxury of introducing national strikers Atapharoy Bygrave and Jourdaine Fletcher, and also Donovan Segree from the bench, should he need another option from the team’s leading scorer Trivante Stewart, who has 15 goals this season.

With so many high-profile players to select from it would be easy for Whitmore to look to a specific player as his talisman or main threat. Instead, he makes his philosophy clear that everyone on the team is expected to pull the same weight and that the responsibility for success is shared across the entire roster.

“All of them are leaders,” he said. “Mount Pleasant is a team. It’s not about one or two specific players to go and play against Cavalier — we need everyone. Our substitutes coming off the bench, their contribution is just like the starters.”

The teams faced each other four times already this season, with a win each and two draws.

“This fifth and final game should hopefully be one where both teams please the fans,” Barrett said. “They’ll be coming out in their numbers and paying their money to see an exciting encounter.”

The match kicks off at 7:00 pm but the first game of the Sabina Park double-header is the third-place game between Arnett Gardens and last season’s champions Harbour View at 3:00 pm.