It was a successful return to Mount Pleasant FA for head coach Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore as the St Ann-based club kept their Concacaf Caribbean Cup hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Arnett Gardens FC in a keenly contested encounter at Sabina Park on Tuesday.
Jashaun Anglin (33rd) and Kimoni Bailey (82nd) fired Mount Pleasant to three valuable points as they bounced back from an opening 0-2 defeat to reining Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions Cavalier and, by extension, the dismissal of then coach Harold Thomas.
Shai Smith’s 54th-minute strike kept things interesting for CFU Club Shield winners Arnett Gardens, who will now have to pick up the pieces and come again.
With the win, Mount Pleasant jumped to second on three points, behind Cavalier, while Arnett Gardens sit bottom without a point.
For Whitmore, the result served as a statement of the quality that Mount Pleasant possesses both on and off the field.
“After coming off a loss, for us these three points mean a lot to the club, it means a lot to the players, and we just have to keep working and keep improving,” Whitmore said in a post-game conference.
“We didn’t want to find any excuses. We asked the boys one thing, and that was to give of their best, give 110 percent, and they went out and left it on the pitch. The aim is always to make a statement, and that’s what we did today (Tuesday),” he added.
After a tentative start, both teams gradually got into their stride, but it was Mount Pleasant that grabbed the ascendancy when Anglin expertly headed home from Daniel Green’s weighted cross.
Mount Pleasant rode the momentum in their probe to extend the lead, which they almost did on two occasions in the latter stages of the first half, but for Asher Hutchinson in goal for Arnett Gardens.
Hutchinson first came up big to deny Jean Ferreira’s close range effort in the 44th, and then Shaqueil Bradford in the 45+2 to ensure his team remained in the contest at the break.
Moca FC in action against AC Port of Spain.
Arnett Gardens showed more attacking fight on the resumption and pulled level nine minutes in when the lanky Smith rose above defenders to head home Kimani Arbouine’s cross.
Now pumped, the ‘Junglists’ pushed for the go-ahead goal, which they would have had in the 58th if Fabian Reid’s effort dipped below the crossbar.
Mount Pleasant also rued their luck for a minute as Nicholas Nelson’s 76th-minute shot at the other end also came off the crossbar.
However, their disappointment turned to celebrations six minutes later when Bailey displayed nippy footwork to dismiss defenders in a dazzling solo effort, which he ended with a tidy finish beyond the hapless Hutchinson to seal Mount Pleasant’s win.
Whitmore’s side will next visit Trinidad and Tobago’s Miscellaneous Police FC in Couva, on September 26, while Xavier Gilbert and his Arnett Gardens team will hope for better fortunes also against Police FC, whom they will visit on September 19.
“It is just unfortunate we are on the losing end, but it is just the first game. We are still in it. It might set us back in terms of points on the board, and we are probably at the bottom of the table. But we are going to give it a shot. We have multiple games,” Gilbert noted.
Meanwhile, in Group B action, Dominican Republic’s Moca FC produced a decent second-half display to edge Trinidad and Tobago’s AC Port of Spain 3-2 at Estadio Moca 85.
John Paul Rochford’s brace (41st and 49th) for AC Port of Spain proved in vain as Alan Aciar (51st), Gustavo Ascona (62nd), and Clifford Thomas (90+1) brought Moca FC from behind to secure all three points.
The win pushed Moca FC to the top of the standings on four points, while AC Port of Spain remained on one point.
Moca will seek to extend their unbeaten run when they host Ouanaminthe FC on September 18, while AC Port of Spain’s next challenge will come against Grenades FC on September 17 in Couva.
Brandon King has been appointed captain of the West Indies squad named to face South Africa in the upcoming three T20 International series at Sabina Park in Kingston starting Thursday, May 23. The squad has been gearing up for this exciting and highly anticipated series with a training camp held at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. The selection panel has confirmed that Brandon King will have Roston Chase as his vice captain. Both appointments are on an interim basis.
King was set to lead the West Indies A-Team on the recently concluded T20 tour to Nepal before he was withdrawn due to injury. Chase, appointed instead, went on to lead the A-Team to a series win against Nepal.
The West Indies Men’s squad for the series is as follows: Brandon King (Captain), Roston Chase (Vice-Captain), Fabian Allen, Alick Athanaze, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd and Hayden Walsh Jr.
Alzarri Joseph and Sherfane Rutherford will be added to the squad if their respective franchises do not reach the Indian Premier League (IPL) Final. Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran are both rested for the series and will join the squad in Trinidad on Monday, 27 May.
“These are among the last competitive T20 International matches before the start of the World Cup,” said lead selector Desmond Haynes. “Players have the opportunity to fine-tune their skills and ensure they are as prepared as they can be for the World Cup, whether they are in the final squad or reserve pool.”
White Ball Head Coach Daren Sammy also commented on his objectives for this series stating, “We have not played together as a team since the Australia series, but we just completed a very high-intensity training camp in Antigua. Now we have the chance to integrate some of our players returning from the IPL and build some momentum as a group going into the World Cup.”
Tickets for the T20I Series against South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica are available now to buy online from the Windies Tickets service, at WINDIES TICKET PORTAL. Fans who purchase online will benefit from a 20 per cent discount compared to the box office prices, with tickets ranging from the most premium seats with the best-shaded views in the stadium through to affordable standard seats or mounds/grounds entry.
Match schedule:
- 23 May 1st T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
- 25 May 2nd T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
- 26 May 3rd T20I West Indies v South Africa at Sabina Park, Jamaica 2:00 pm JT/3:00 pm ECT
West Indies won the last T20 International played at Sabina Park against New Zealand in August 2022, which was the last time international cricket was played at this historic venue.
Cavalier Football Club will contest the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup final after they held Harbour View to a goalless stalemate in their second leg semi-final clash at Sabina Park on Tuesday.
With the result, Cavalier win the series 5-0 on aggregate to advance to the final where they will face either Suriname's Robinhood or Dominican Republic's Moca FC. They have also officially qualified for the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Harbour View will look to claim a 2024 Champions Cup berth in the third-place Match.
Needing five unanswered goals to pull level in the series, Harbour View came out the much more aggressive and Jahshaun Anglin almost steered one in at the far post in the 14th, but his effort was kept out by Vino Barclett in goal for Cavalier.
Cavalier started to find space going forward and tournament top scorer Shaniel Thomas almost found his ninth goal in the 39th. However, he was denied by Harbour View's custodian Anthony Bennett.
Harbour View kept their foot on the gas in search of a goal and Shaquiel Bradford looked set to pull a goal back, but missed the target from inside the area after the preceding shot was blocked.
A defensive mishap by Harbour View in the 79th, almost gifted Jalmaro Calvin the breakthrough, but Ajeanie Talbott was on hand to avert the danger.
It would prove to be the final chance of the match, but it mattered less to Cavalier, who did much if the hardwork in the opening leg.
A new champion will be crowned on Thursday in the 31st edition of the Kingston Wharves U15 Cricket Competition as unbeaten St. Mary will take on St. Elizabeth in the final at Sabina Park after contrasting semi-final matches on Tuesday.
St. Mary only dropped points in the last match of their preliminary round against St. Catherine Cricket Association, which was rained out while St. Elizabeth lost only one of its preliminary round matches against Westmoreland.
St. Elizabeth defeated Kingston by 104 runs at Sabina Park.
After taking first strike, St Elizabeth made 214-8 from their allotment of 50 overs. Wicketkeeper/batsman Odane Binns was the top scorer with 49 while Davian Mason scored 40 and Adrian Silvera, an unbeaten 35.
Jhaliel Smith was also among the runs with 30.
There were two wickets apiece for Kingston’s bowlers Goevanni Grey, Captain Kajeev Bathyka and McKanell Palmer.
In reply, Kingston was bundled out for just 90 from 26.5 overs as the St Elizabeth bowling attack wreaked havoc. Only opener Nicoli McKenzie (13) got into double figures and there were 42 extras.
Davian Mason 3-1, Jhaleil Smith bagged 3-19 while Eckoney Robinson took 2-16.
The other semi-final at Kensington Cricket Ground was reduced to 38 overs a side because of bad weather.
In the low-scoring affair, St. Mary won the toss and invited home team Kensington to bat. They were bowled out for 93, despite a valiant 54 from Captain David Dewar.
Rushawn Bell took 4-22 and Dijon Taylor 2-14 while scything through the Kensington line-up.
In reply, St. Mary laboured to 94 for seven in 23.2 overs to win by three wickets.
Tyson Gordon, who was unbeaten on 38 and Devonte Miller 10 were the only players to get into double figures and there were 26 extras.
Geovanni Golding was the most successful bowler, getting 4-20 in six overs.
Half-centuries from Babar Azam and Fawad Alam wrested the early initiative from the West Indies and put Pakistan in a position of strength at the end of the first day of the second Betway Test at Sabina Park on Friday.
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