HARBOUR View FC Head Coach Ludlow Bernard wants the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to take control of the Lynk Cup.

The tournament is Jamaica’s top-tier cup competition but is organised by title sponsors Lynk, a digital payment company.

Bernard says there needs to be sustainability should Lynk decide in the future that they no longer want to sponsor the competition. This, he says, would ensure that it does not get cancelled, and teams would have multiple opportunities to develop players.

“I’m a serious advocate of multiple competitions being played,” Bernard said ahead of their first-leg semi-final against Portmore United on Friday. The game ended in a 2-2 draw.

“I think this should be a staple going forward — given you have an all-island knockout — irrespective of who are the sponsors. As a matter of fact, I think the JFF should follow the English FA and probably take it on themselves and seek sponsorship for it. I was looking at the trophy and I see that it’s almost a replica of the [Emirates] FA Cup. This is something that the federation should own and then of course seek sponsors for.

“Title sponsors can change year to year. In the event that Lynk decides to stop sponsorship, then it drops dead again — so I’m charging the federation [to look into that].”

Portmore got their goals from Chevaughn Walsh while Harbour View’s goals were scored by Jahshaun Anglin and Cristojaye Daley.

Bernard thinks it was a fair result, given how heavily he has had to rely on his bench at this point in the season.

“We had to make some adjustments due to some absentees,” he said after the game. “So we asked each person to play a particular role and I think they acquitted themselves very well. It goes to show that with a little discipline we can get the job done.”

His Portmore counterpart, Philip Williams, says they were prepared for Harbour View’s style of play

“Those two goals would have broken our spirit but the guys showed maturity and concentration and we got back into the game,” he said. “We were prepared to play without the ball today. We know that Harbour View is a very good ball-playing team so we knew we had to match them in terms of our workmanship — and the guys put in a good shift tonight.”

The other match in the Stadium East double-header saw Cavalier win the first leg 1-0 from a 51st-minute own goal by Dunbeholden’s Shevan James.

Cavalier Technical Director Rudolph Speid was happy with the result as he also had to make adjustments due to injuries.

“We’re in a rebuilding mode,” he said. “We had a lot of injuries, we lost two of our best players, so we just did what we had to do.

“The players were mostly in their preferred positions. Allen, in the midfield, did a lot of work. We knew what Dunbeholden was gonna bring. I think we gave them too much space when the game just started but once we closed down that space I think they were kinda lucky to go in at half-time without conceding. We had a lot of shots on their goal and on target.”

Dunbeholden Assistant Coach Craig Richards was disappointed they were not able to make the most of the chances they created.

“We started the game very well,” he said. “We created a few opportunities [but], unfortunately, we were unable to convert them. When we started the second half we also started well but it’s just an unfortunate game today. But, we have another half to play in the next leg and we look forward to that.”

The second legs of these fixtures take place this Friday.