MOLYNES United and favourites Mount Pleasant FA are to meet in the Popeye’s Challenge Cup football final in a classic ‘David vs Goliath’ matchup at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex tonight. Kick-off is scheduled for at 8:30.

The encounter features teams that finished at opposite ends of the table in regular season of the just-ended Jamaica Premier League (JPL) campaign.

Molynes finished just above the relegation zone in the JPL while Mount Pleasant topped the regular season only to finish third overall.

It will be the first major final of any kind for Molynes United.

On the other hand, Mount Pleasant, who have won a number of titles over the past few seasons — including the Jamaica Premier League and the Concacaf Caribbean Cup — will be trying to claim their first domestic cup title.

Both teams advanced to the championship match after goal-filled semi-final wins at the Arnett Gardens, St Andrew-based Anthony Spaulding complex on Saturday.

Molynes rallied late for a second-straight game, scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation time, plus added time, to defeat Montego Bay United 5-2.

Daniel Green scored a brace for Mount Pleasant as they ran past Jamaica Football Championship team Jamaica Defence Force 5-1 in the other semi-final.

The odds are heavily in favour of Mount Pleasant, who won once and drew twice in three games against Molynes in the last JPL campaign.

Mount Pleasant have used a mixture of senior players and academy youngsters in the competition, and their squad depth could make the difference.

Even as they prepare for the Caribbean Football Union Shield, set to begin next month, Davion Ferguson, Mount Pleasant’s assistant coach, said they will be approaching the game with the same mindset as any other final.

FERGUSON… we take every game seriously and will always put our best foot forward

“We are in a transition period between the two seasons,” said Ferguson. “But, we take every game seriously and will always put our best foot forward — even while exposing some of the youngsters to top-level football.”

He said the technical staff has a delicate job of balancing players’ workload, after a long season that started last August.

“It’s been a very long season; we have played 54 games — the most we have ever played — and we have to rest some players to get them ready for next season while trying to find a competitive balance,” the Mount Pleasant coach said.

Jermaine Thomas, Molynes United’s head coach, said they will have to focus for the full 90 minutes of the game if they are to lift the trophy.

Thomas, who has been splitting time between guiding Molynes and coaching the national men’s Under-20 team in South Florida, said getting to the Challenge Cup final was a tremendous feat.

“It’s an awesome feeling to be in the final. To be honest, the team has not done as well as we had hoped over the last two seasons, and to get this far it says volumes for the team and the players,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Thomas was under no illusion about the threat that Mount Pleasant pose.

“We have to keep calm and stay organised. We must keep our structure and organisation as Mount Pleasant can hurt you from anywhere on the field.

“Our concentration must be high throughout the game, and we have to win the duels and the battles all over the field if we are to be competitive,” the Molynes coach said.

Extra time will be introduced if the scores are tied after 90 minutes, and if needed, penalty kicks will be used as the final tiebreaker.

— Paul A Reid