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Cavalier, Mount Pleasant for third straight JPL title showdown
May 19, 2025
For the third straight season, Mount Pleasant Football Academy and Cavalier will contest the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) final, after overcoming Montego Bay United and Arnett Gardens in the second leg semi-finals at Sabina Park yesterday.
In the feature match, defending champions Cavalier turned back Arnett 1-0 on a Jalmaro Calvin goal, to win the tie 2-1 on aggregate. The first leg ended 1-1.
While, Mount Pleasant and Montego Bay United played to a 1-1 draw, but Mount Pleasant advanced 2-1 on aggregate after winning the opening leg 1-0.
Franco Celestine put Mount Pleasant in front in the 38th minute, but Brian Brown's goal tied the game on the hour mark.
Cavalier's head coach Rudolph Speid praised star forward Dwayne 'Busy' Atkinson, who was a thorn in Arnett's side. It was actually Atkinson's shot that provided the opening for the goal, as it was deflected into the path of Calvin, who scored the rebound.
"I didn't vote for him to be the best player in the Caribbean. Some other persons voted for him. But everyone knows he is best in the Caribbean and once he is fit, he is going to be the difference and tonight he showed his class," Speid said.
He added that his players' will to win saw them through once again.
"The main thing about these players is that they do not know how to lose. These are players who are going to fight from start to finish," he commented
Arnett started like a house on fire, but Shai Smith could not get his header on target, and Fabian Reid who shot straight at goalkeeper Vino Barclett early on.
Smith had the best chance to open the scoring in the 35th minute, but he turned Ricardo Thomas' lovely cross wide of the mark.
Dwayne Atkinson then had a glorious opportunity to put Cavalier ahead, after he stole possession from Philando Wing and raced towards goal, but goalkeeper Tyrone Williams was quick off his line to avert the danger.
Cavalier were quick out of the blocks in the second half and Atkinson opened up the Arnett defence and found Calvin, who fired the black and white-clad team into the lead.
Arnett's best chance for an equaliser came in the 85th minute when Warner Brown broke through on a through pass. However, a sliding challenge deflected his well drilled shot for a corner.
Arnett's coach Xavier Gilbert said Atkinson was allowed too much space.
"We allowed Dwayne Atkinson too much space. We should have been a little bit tighter on the space he wanted to go into and we didn't do that and he exploited us," he said.
