Portmore United overturn deficit to beat Mt Pleasant in JPL semis
KINGSTON, Jamaica—Portmore United overturned a first-leg 1-0 deficit to beat Mt Pleasant FA 4-2 in extra- time in Wednesday’s return leg of the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) semi-finals for a 4-3 win on aggregate and qualify for Sunday’s final.
The teams had finished regulation time tied at 2-2, but Portmore, who were playing their fourth game in 10 days, scored twice in the extra 30 minutes to book a place in the final for the first time in seven years.
The loss ended a three-year run with Mt Pleasant qualifying for the final, while Portmore United also qualified for the 2026 CONCACAF Caribbean Cup, which kicks off in August.
Trailing by a goal after Sunday’s first leg, Portmore took the game to Mt Pleasant and were rewarded with two goals inside the first 37 minutes to take the lead on aggregate.
Tarick Ximenes scored with a speculative shot in the 23rd minute from almost half line that caught goalkeeper Tafari Chambers off his goal line and flew over his head into the goal to tie up the scores 1-1 on aggregate.
Ronaldo Robinson took full advantage of an error in the Mt Pleasant defence in the 37th minute, picking up a loose ball just inside the 18-yard box and firing it past Chambers to give Portmore the lead for the first time in the series.
Mt Pleasant drew level on aggregate in the 62nd minute when Raheem Edwards atoned for an earlier miss when he beat goalkeeper Daniel Russell with a thunderous shot from just outside the 18-yard area.
Tedj Bryan restored Portmore United’s lead when he steered a header from a cross past Chambers in the 105th minute, but once again Mt Pleasant found an equaliser, three minutes later, when Jashaun Anglin scored from the penalty spot after Daniel Green was fouled just inside the area.
Portmore were not to be denied, however, as Javier Brown got the winner in the 112th minute when he got his right boot to a long pass and guided it past Chambers into the left corner of the goal.
-Paul A Reid
