CAVALIER’S Sporting Director Rudolph Speid spoke with a mix of optimism and determination ahead of the second leg of the final in the Concacaf Caribbean Club Championship against Surinamese club Robinhood this evening at the National Stadium.

Match time is 7:00 pm.

Having lost the opening game 1-0 in Suriname a week ago, Cavalier face a challenging task in overturning the deficit despite the match being played on home soil.

“We are feeling optimistic but it is not going to be easy because they are not going to give up their advantage so it is something that we have to come and fight for — which we are prepared to do,” said Speid.

“I know that they are going to try and keep us off the scoresheet as much as possible but we know what we have to do and so we are going to work on it and try to make Jamaica proud,” he added.

Cavalier’s defeat in the first leg underlined the toughness of the competition but Speid believes in his team’s “winning mentality”.

“We are going out there to fight, and everyone on my team knows how hard it is going to be to win this title, and we are prepared to fight as hard as we can,” he noted.

Despite the high level of confidence within the team, Speid said there are a few niggling injuries. Still, he expects to bring the game to Robinhood, who have demonstrated through the rounds they are not pushovers.

“This team is a very tough team because both them and us won our respective zones and so they are a tough team. They won the Caribbean Shield this year and they are in the final of this competition now so they must be a good team, and they have some very good players.”

Speid has called on local fans to come out and rally behind the team, having seen first-hand how that kind of support benefited Robinhood in the first leg of the tie. With the Ministry of Sport making the bleachers at the National Stadium free of cost to fans, that should provide a boost in fan numbers in favour of the home team.

“I think if people come out and support us it will help us a lot because when we went to Suriname their stadium was jampacked and everybody was supporting the home team, so I suppose if that happens on Wednesday then that will help us a lot too,” he reasoned.

Should Cavalier lift the Caribbean Cup, they will earn a spot in the round of 16 of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.