Mount Pleasant hunt record win
Red-hot Mount Pleasant FA will be going after an 11th-straight win today when they play Tivoli Gardens in a second-round Jamaica Premier League game at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex at 5:00 pm.
Six games are scheduled to be played today and one tomorrow, with second-placed Montego Bay United playing away to the rejuvenated Portmore United at Ferdi Neita Park, while third-placed Arnett Gardens and defending champions Cavalier will face off at Anthony Spaulding.
Mount Pleasant has been on a tear through the league, piling up points and goals and would be two games away from beating every team in the league during one devastating streak.
The Theodore Whitmore-coached team’s last game without a win was on November 18 when they came from behind, in time added, to earn a 1-1 draw with Chapelton Maroons and finished with 10 players.
As if to rubber stamp their domination over the league, Mount Pleasant beat defending champions Cavalier FC, the Concacaf Caribbean Cup champions and Concacaf Champions League qualifiers, 3-0 on Thursday.
Since they were outscored 3-2 by Dunbeholden on October 30, Mount Pleasant FA had dropped just two points over their next 12 games and have scored 37 goals while conceding six in the process.
Today, Tivoli Gardens, who were beaten on Thursday by Racing United, will hope to be the team to stop the runaway train and avenge their first-round 1-0 loss.
Thursday’s loss had ended a five games unbeaten run by seventh-placed Tivoli Gardens who have been trying to get closer to the top six with some good results over the last month.
The game at Ferdi Neita could be the best match of the round, between two teams that are playing well and getting results, and after a dour 0-0 draw in their first meeting, there could be fireworks today.
Portmore United shook off a nine-game winless skid with three consecutive wins with a 9-0 aggregate and will hope playing at home can get them a win over Montego Bay United (MBU) who have lost once in their last nine games.
On Wednesday, Portmore moved into fourth place thanks in a large part to a double from Jermie Lynch who returned to the league after more than a year out with injuries.
With 10-goal scorer Brian Brown out with an ankle injury, MBU will turn to nine-goal scorer Shaniel Thomas and Jourdain Fletcher to lead them.
MBU could be boosted with the return of Brazillian midfielder Jean Claudio Rios Ferreira, who started the season with Mount Pleasant, as well as Nazime Matalie-Grant, who had a five-minute cameo on Thursday after missing all of last season with injuries.
Sunday’s games
•Portmore United vs Montego Bay United – Ferdi Neita Park 3:00pm
•Harbour View vs Dunbeholden – Harbour View Stadium 3:00pm
•Tivoli Gardens vs Mount Pleasant – Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex 5:00 pm
•Cavalier FC vs Arnett Gardens – Anthony Spaulding Complex 7:30pm
•Vere Phoenix United vs Racing United – Waterhouse Stadium 3:00pm
•Waterhouse FC vs Chapelton Maroons – Waterhouse Stadium 5:30pm