Laing wants this one most

Jeovanni Laing, captain of defending champions Cavalier SC, says winning this season’s Jamaica Premier League (JPL) title would be the most special achievement of his career with the club as they prepare to face Portmore United in today’s final at the National Stadium. 

Laing, who has been with Cavalier since 2021, will be chasing his fourth JPL title with the club. The 25-year-old Laing, the oldest member of the Cavalier team, with an average age of 19.7, also helped Cavalier capture the Caribbean Cup title a few seasons ago.

“This is going to be a very special one for me,” said James. “To be the leader of this squad, I think this is going to be the best title that I am going to win since I have been at Cavalier.”

However, the experienced central defender admitted that this season has been one of the most challenging for the defending champions, especially after the departure of several key players.

“It is difficult to lead these youngsters because if you are a fan of Cavalier, you would know that a lot of people have been saying that this year is our weakest team,” he said.

“We don’t have the star players compared to previous years because we don’t have Dwayne Atkinson, Richard King, and Kyle Ming, so I have always been playing with those types of players who are in my age group.”

“Nobody at the start of the season thought that Cavalier would be in this position with this set of youngsters. I think this year as a club, we had more downtimes than uptimes but despite this, we stuck together and we kept believing in each other and here we are now in the final,” Laing said. 

Laing pointed out that leading this group of players wasn't an easy task because they can prove difficult to deal with at times. 

“I am the oldest one on this team and these youngsters can be a little difficult at times and it is also very hard to get them to fight for you if they don’t want to,” he said. 

“I had to learn how to deal with them. So it wasn’t easy at first but we all understand each other now and we are growing together and it is for us to go out on Sunday and complete the job.”

Laing stated that Portmore United is a very good all-round team and therefore he is expecting a thrilling encounter in today's final. 

“We are confident but in saying that, we know that it is going to be a difficult game because Portmore are seven-time champions of the league and this is going to be a tough one,” he said.

“The last three seasons we have been in finals with Mount Pleasant Academy but this is a new challenger and someone who is more hungry for it.”

Laing also said that while many of Portmore’s players will be experiencing their first final, several members of the Cavalier squad are also new to the occasion and eager to prove themselves.

“This is the first final for most of the Portmore players but we also have some players who this will be their first final as well and they are hungry too and so I am confident in my team that we can defend this title,” he said.

“As you can see, these youngsters have no fear and they are just hungry and want to show the world that youngsters can do it,” Laing said. 

He shared that Cavalier’s tradition of developing young talent continues to drive the club’s success over the years. 

“Cavalier is built on young players because we have been doing this from when we were young. I won my first title when I was 20 years old so I am sure these players want to follow in my footsteps as well.”