NO REAL ADVANTAGE - Mt Pleasant, MoBay wary of trailing JPL semi-finalists Cavalier, Portmore confident of evening things up

Despite having a goal overruled in Sunday's Jamaica Premier League (JPL) semi-final first leg, Portmore United remains undaunted and full of belief going into tonight's second leg, 1-0 down to Mount Pleasant, at the National Stadium, starting at 6 p.m.

In the second match, Montego Bay United also take a 1-0 advantage into their tie against defending champions Cavalier at 9 p.m.

In Sunday's first leg, Cory Burke saw his 69th-minute strike given by referee Okeito Nicholson, then overturned, after it was ruled that the ball had not completely crossed the line.

Mount Pleasant then went on to get the game's lone goal through national striker Warner Brown eight minutes from the end.

However, assistant coach of Portmore Ricardo Smith said his team has maintained a positive attitude and believe that they can turn things around despite managing only one draw in four meetings with the St Ann team this season.

"We have to move forward. We have two days in between the next leg. We just have to keep the mentality we came into the game with: that we can win. We know we can win the game, and we just have to come and turn it around.

"It's not hard. We just have to do the necessary things and get our minds into it. We know we can come back. It's not a huge margin, and if we play the same game we played (Sunday), and put a few balls in the net, then it will be a different result," he said.

Although Mount Pleasant have had the upper hand on them this term, Smith said they were excellent in the first leg and take confidence from the game that a win is not beyond them.

"For the longest while, it's the bravest we have been. I thought we had control of most of the minutes throughout the game. So I believe we can do it. The attitude and the mentality are good. They (players) are not even upset. They believe and they are still saying, ‘Come on! We can do it’. So I know they can do it, and they believe they can do it," he added.

Mount Pleasant coach Theodore Whitmore thought his team did enough to win the leg but did not think they played to their true potential.

"Not a Mount Pleasant game, but we have been out on a one-week break and we got past this hurdle and looking forward to the next hurdle."

However, he is wary of how fragile a one-goal lead can be. 

"We are aware of the 1-0 and how we approach the game on Wednesday. It will have to be a different ball game.

"They did some good stuff and caught us off guard. We just have to watch back the tape and know our approach for the second leg.

"I can assure that what we don't want is to go into the next leg with the mindset that we are leading. A one-goal can be dangerous. Normally when you are leading 1-0, you sit back and allow the opponents to play. So we are wary of that and complacency," he stated.

In the second game, Cavalier will also have to overturn a one-goal deficit in order to reach a fourth successive JPL final. 

In the first leg they came up against a well-organised Montego Bay United, which dominated the champions.

Assistant coach at Cavalier David Laylor admitted that their attacking game was not up to par on the night and promises a more enterprising and attacking Cavalier team today.

"Montego Bay is a very organised team, and we didn't get a lot of chances. So good win for Montego Bay, but we have a next game.

"We planned to defend well (Sunday). Next game, we plan to attack better. They are one goal up. We will see what happens as we will put some plans in place because it's a must-win game so we will be better prepared attacking-wise," he stated.

MoBay coach Xavier Gilbert said the aim is to keep their opponents off the scoresheet. However, he remains cautious about the threat their opponents possess.

"It's just a one-goal advantage. We have to be focused and know that keeping a clean sheet in the next game will take us into the final, and that is what we are going to focus on.

"We are not going to ease up. We are still going to play our style of play. We are cognisant of the threat that they pose. We just have to balance things as we go along and manage proceedings.

"We have to do what we do best. Keeping the ball, moving the ball around and pressuring the opposition and once we do that, we should be fine. 

"We are mindful of what they can do and how threatening they can be, but once we take that away from them, the job will become easier for us.

"They are going to have to make some adjustments. We don't know how much, but we will have to sit and look what we did well and see if we can improve and do better and, of course, fix the things we thought we could have done better," he commented.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com

Today’s Games

Portmore vs Mt Pleasant at 6 p.m.

Cavalier vs Montego Bay at 9 p.m.

Games to be played at the National Stadium