As Cavalier FC continue their quest to defend the Wray & Nephew Jamaica Premier League title, head coach Rudolph Speid is confident the team will be able to overcome fatigue as they take on Portmore United in the first leg of the quarter-final play-offs at Sabina Park.

Kick-off is scheduled for 8:30 pm.

Cavalier and Portmore are competing for a spot in the semi-finals against Arnett Gardens after finishing third and fourth, respectively, in the league table.

However, it’s somewhat of a new territory for Cavalier as they’ve automatically qualified for the last four in the previous two seasons and eventually made the final after finishing in the top two during the regular season. It’s the first time since 2022 that they will feature in the quarter-finals.

“Last year, we weren’t playing for a month, so I was able to work on some things I know would have surprised our opponents in the play-offs, which it did, so we don’t have that much time to prepare like last year,” Speid told the Jamaica Observer.

“But one of our strengths is that we’re a very versatile team and some of the things we’ve worked on, we hope will pay dividends.”

While Portmore United’s sole focus has been on the JPL, Cavalier have had to manage local and regional duty.

In addition to the JPL, Cavalier competed in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup, which they won, and the Concacaf Champions Cup in which they were eliminated by Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in March.

It means Cavalier have played almost 50 games since last August, but Speid believes their campaign against some of the region’s best could prove to be fruitful.

“The edge that we have is we’ve played some really tough teams to get where we are now in the Concacaf competitions and I think that will help us to get through this difficult phase of the competition,” he said.

Despite the long season, Cavalier were able to rotate some of their regular starters in their 4-3 win over Molynes United last Sunday including captain Richard King, leading goalscorer Jalmaro Calvin and star winger Dwayne Atkinson.

“I was able to bring them on when I saw the game was close so we could get the win because at this particular time, we want to keep on a winning momentum, so it was good,” Speid said.

“It’s really a good feeling so at this time, we’re in good stead. The players would have rested a little bit and should be ready for Thursday.”

Cavalier will also be confident heading into the quarter-finals as they’ve gone unbeaten in their three games against Portmore this season, including their recent 1-0 win last month.

Portmore, however, will take heart as the second-best defensive team in the league this season, conceding just 25 times in 39 games.

In the other play-off clash slated to start 6:00, Tivoli Gardens take on Montego Bay United (MBU).

It will be a rematch of last Sunday’s encounter which Tivoli won 2-1 to qualify for the play-offs. That loss left Montego Bay in third, falling behind Arnett Gardens who took one of the automatic semi-final spots.

MBU, though, go in as favourites due to their league form and by virtue of beating Tivoli Gardens in four of their last five games.

Tivoli, though, ended the season on an impressive 12-game unbeaten run.

Head coach Jerome Waite believes mental preparation will be key ahead of the game.

“It’s two legs, we just have to get these players organised and get the players in the right frame of mind because it’s now the play-offs; it’s not anymore the first, second and third round, we’ve moved past that,” he said.

“As you know, it’s three rounds of football and it’s not the best team that will win but it’s the team that will stay focused, work assiduously and continue to do well,” Waite noted.

— Daniel Blake

THURSDAY’S GAMES

6:00 pm — Tivoli Gardens vs Montego Bay

8:30 pm — Cavalier vs Portmore