Round three, fight!
JPL goes into final leg with relegation struggles and top-six battles
Published:Sunday | March 2, 2025 | 12:07 AMLivingston Scott - Gleaner Writer
THE THIRD round of matches in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) get under way this afternoon and leaders Mount Pleasant Football Club travel to Ferdi Neita Park to face Portmore United in the feature game at 3:30 p.m.
Mount Pleasant coach Theodore Whitmore said his team is prepared mentally and physically for the challenges of the third round and that the aim today is to continue where they left off in the second round.
“The mindset, the objective never changes. We look forward to the next game. The start of a new round and we just want to bring the momentum into the third round,” he said.
“We know it is not going to be easy. It is going to be difficult because teams want to be in the top six. Teams want to save relegation. So it is going to be tough. You just have to prepare yourself physically and mentally for the psychological battle.”
Mount Pleasant lead the league with 62 points after 26 games. Portmore are fifth in the table on 43 points, six more than Waterhouse in sixth.
After going down 0-1 to Waterhouse in their last game, Portmore coach Rodolph Austin said they have to start limiting their errors.
SILLY MISTAKE
“It (Waterhouse) is one of the games that we have to get over and move forward. We still have some time this season. We played well but we made a simple mistake and it cost us. So you can’t make silly mistakes and we have to learn from that,” he stated
At Drewsland, sixth-place Waterhouse and seventh-place Racing square-off in a direct battle for sixth.
Waterhouse have 37 points, three more than Racing. But a win for Racing by three or more goals would lift them above the Drewsland team in the standings on goal difference.
Third-place Montego Bay United (50 points) will be aiming for their first win for new coach Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis, who has two draws since taking over from Rodolfo Zapata.
They should fancy their chances despite travelling to the Wembley Centre of Excellence, with Vere going into their 11th straight game without a win. Vere are second from bottom with 19 points
Eighth-place Tivoli will look to take advantage of the Waterhouse-Racing matchup to also close in on the top six.
One or both teams are due to drop points and although Tivoli are not in the best of form, they will start favourites against a Molynes team that has not won in six matches. Molynes have 23 points and are 11th on the table.
Cavalier will also look to continue their winning ways against bottom-of-the-table Humble Lion, who have struggled all season. The defending champions will also play Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup later this week and will want to go off on a positive note.
Harbour View will start their game favourites against Chapelton, who have found wins hard to come by under coach Jermaine Douglas. Chapelton will find themselves in another difficult situation, especially with Harbour View picking up wins more consistently since the start of January.
Harbour View are 10th on 24 points and Chapelton 12th on 22.